BV  1534  .P43  1912 
Pell,  Edward  Leigh,  1861- 
Secrets  of  Sunday-school 
teaching 


SECRETS   OF   SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
TEACHING 


Secrets  of  Sunday-School 
Teaching 


By  y 

EDWARD  LEIGH  PELL 

Author  of  the  ''Life  Worth  While,''  "  Little 
Guide-posts  in  the  Way  to  Life,''  etc. 


New    York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming     H.     Revell     Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  19 12,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London :  2 1  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100    Princes    Street 


Preface 

IN"  this  book  I  have  tried  to  point  out  as 
plainly  as  I  know  how  the  fundamental 
principles  underlying  successful  teaching, 
together  with  the  hundred  and  one  practical 
methods  that  successful  teachers  have  developed 
therefrom. 

In  the  matter  of  methods  I  have  tried  to 
avoid  extremes.  I  have  long  recognized  the 
fact  that  a  method  is  not  good  because  it  is 
new,  nor  bad  because  it  is  old.  Every  method 
must  stand  on  its  merits,  not  on  its  years.  If 
grandfather's  sword  is  eaten  through  with  rust 
let  us  not  carry  it  into  battle ;  but  if  it  is  a  tried 
and  true  Damascus  blade  it  should  not  be  dis- 
carded for  one  of  your  modern  make  that  may 
be  as  brittle  as  it  is  bright.  If  our  fathers 
knew  how  to  produce  better  spiritual  fibre  than 
we  are  producing  there  is  little  reason  for  turn- 
ing up  our  noses  at  old  fogy  ways.  And  if  the 
old-time  Sunday-schools  made  rock  foundations 
of  faith  for  the  strong  men  and  women  of  to- 
day, there  may  be  something  in  their  methods 
not  too  moldy  for  use. 

But  I  have  tried  not  to  lay  too  much  stress 
on  methods.     The  supreme  need  of  the  average 

5 


6  Preface 

Sunday-school  teacher  is  not  a  method  of  work 
but  a  motive  for  work.  Pour  a  note-book  full 
of  new  methods  into  a  cold  brain  and  they  will 
accomplish  about  as  much  as  a  tank  full  of  cold 
water  emptied  into  a  cold  engine.  You've  got 
to  have  fire  beneath  the  water.  You've  got  to 
get  a  motive  that  will  kindle  a  fire  in  your 
heart  beneath  your  brain. 


Contents 

I. 

What  the  Sunday-School  is  For 

9 

II. 

What  the  Teacher  is  For 

H 

III. 

The  Heart  of  the  Matter 

20 

IV. 

The  Very  First  Secret 

24 

V. 

Where  to  Begin         .         .         .         . 

26 

VI. 

Know  Thyself 

3> 

VII. 

How  TO  Keep  Wide  Awake 

35 

VIII. 

How  TO  Stir  Up  Your  Enthusiasm 

40 

IX. 

A  Settled  Mind 

46 

X. 

How  TO  Study  the  Lesson  . 

54 

XI. 

How  TO  Plan  the  Lesson    . 

60 

XII. 

The  Teacher's  Personal  PREPARATIO^ 

r       65 

XIII. 

Getting  the  Point  of  Contact  . 

73 

XIV. 

How  TO  Teach  the  Lesson 

.       78 

XV. 

How  TO  Ask  Questions 

82 

XVI. 

How  TO  Illustrate  the  Lesson  . 

.       89 

XVII. 

How  TO   Make  the  Most  of  a  Bibli 

Story   

I      96 

XVIII. 

Pressing  Home  the  Central  Truth 

•       99 

XIX. 

How  to  Close  the  Lesson 

.     103 

XX. 

Other  Teaching  Points      . 

.     108 

XXI. 

How  TO  Keep  the  Pupils  Interested 

.     117 

XXII. 

The  Secret  of  Good  Order 

.     123 

XXIII. 

Common  Sense  in  Teaching 

.     129 

XXIV. 

Honesty  in  Teaching 

.     133 

XXV. 

If  Your  Pupils  Are  to  be  Like  Chris- 

r     137 

XXVI. 

Seeds  TO  Sow      .... 

.     14' 

8 


Contents 


XXVII. 

Some  Class  Problems 

148 

XXVIII. 

Reaching    the    Pupils    During    the 

Week 

158 

XXIX. 

Helping  the  Pupils  With  Every-day 

Problems     ..... 

162 

XXX. 

How  TO  Increase  the  Attendance    . 

,65 

XXXI. 

How  TO  Organize  a  Bible  Class 

169 

XXXII. 

The  Way  of  a  Child 

173 

XXXIII. 

About  Boys    ..... 

180 

XXXIV. 

Some  Boy  Problems 

188 

XXXV. 

Additional  Points  .... 

194 

WHAT  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  IS  FOE 

THE  Sunday-school  is  not  something 
apart  from  the  church.  Nor  is  it  a 
part  of  the  church.  Nor  is  it  an  ap- 
pendix to  the  church.  It  is  the  church  itself 
organized  for  a  specific  purpose.  That  purpose 
is  not  to  conduct  a  day-school  on  Sunday.  It 
is  not  to  conduct  a  theological  school.  It  is 
not  solely  to  impart  religious  knowledge.  It  is 
not  solely  to  teach  the  Bible.  The  aim  of  the 
church  organized  into  a  Sunday-school  is  the 
development  of  character  by  means  of  the 
study  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  designed  for 
every  man,  woman  and  child  who  has  not  at- 
tained unto  the  perfect  image  of  Christ.  That 
is  to  say,  it  is  designed  for  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  the  church,  and  whom  the  church 
can  reach.  Its  chief  text-book  is  the  Bible,  be- 
cause the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  not  because 
the  Bible  contains  good  history  or  good  liter- 
ature. It  has  to  do  with  the  facts  of  the  Bible 
simply  because  these  facts  are  vehicles  of  the 
truth.  By  the  truth  I  mean  the  sum  of  God's 
revelations  to  men  ;— all  that  He  has  revealed 
9 


lo     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

to  us  in  His  Word  about  Himself  and  about 
His  will  concerning  us  ; — the  light  He  has 
given  us  by  which  we  may  find  our  way  to 
Him.  The  main  business  of  the  Sunday-school 
is  with  this  light.  It  has  no  more  to  do  with 
the  facts  of  the  Bible  apart  from  the  light 
which  they  shed  on  God  and  God's  will  than  it 
has  to  do  with  the  facts  of  secular  history.  It 
is  no  more  concerned  with  the  story  of  David 
and  Goliath,  for  example,  apart  from  its  re- 
ligious teachings  than  it  is  concerned  about  the 
newspaper  accounts  of  the  last  prize-fight.  Its 
business  is  to  teach,  not  merely  in  order  that 
its  pupils  may  know  something,  important 
as  the  knowledge  may  be,  but  in  order  that 
they  may  be  something  and  do  something.  It 
does  not  undervalue  knowing^  but  it  places  the 
emphasis  upon  hein^. 

It  has  been  quite  the  thing  in  recent  years  to 
magnify  the  Sunday-school  as  an  educational 
institution  pure  and  simple,  and  many  very  in- 
telligent persons  have  been  led  to  expect  great 
things  from  it  as  such.  In  their  desire  to  get 
away  from  the  old  error  of  trying  to  reach  the 
heart  without  due  regard  for  the  mind,  many 
teachers  have  swung  to  the  opposite  extreme  of 
trying  to  reach  the  mind  without  concern  for 
the  heart.  These  good  people  tell  us  that  the 
chief  business  of  the  Sunday-school  is  to  train 
and  store  the  minds  of  children  by  and  with 


What  the  Sunday-School  is  For       1 1 

religious  knowledge  in  the  same  way  that  a 
public  school  trains  and  stores  the  minds  of  the 
children  by  and  with  secular  knowledge.  They 
tell  us  that  the  Sunday-school  has  been  largely 
a  failure  because  it  has  ignored  educational 
methods,  and  that  if  it  is  to  be  a  success  it 
must  be  organized  and  equipped  as  far  as  pos- 
sible like  any  other  school.  "Give  us  trained 
teachers  and  a  graded  lesson  system  and  a 
modern  plant,"  they  tell  us,  "  and  the  problem 
will  be  solved."  And  here  and  there  the 
trained  teachers  and  the  graded  lesson  system 
and  the  modern  plant  have  been  furnished,  and 
great  expectations  have  been  raised — and  the 
problem  is  still  unsolved.  Some  report  results, 
some  report  no  results,  comparatively  few  re- 
port the  expected  results.  Somehow  as  a  purely 
educational  institution  the  Sunday-school  does 
not  turn  out  a  brilliant  success. 

And  why  should  it  ?  Would  a  public  school 
turn  out  a  brilliant  success  on  thirty  minutes  a 
week  ?  Would  a  public  school  teacher  under- 
take to  train  and  store  the  minds  of  your  chil- 
dren on  thirty  minutes  a  week  ?  We  might  as 
well  quit  expecting  the  impossible.  As  a  mind- 
training,  mind-filling  institution  the  Sunday- 
school,  however  well  equipped  it  may  be,  can- 
not accomplish  in  thirty  minutes  what  the 
public  school  undertakes  to  accomplish  in 
twenty-five  hours. 


1 2     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

But  do  not  let  me  be  misunderstood.  I 
do  not  undervalue  trained  teachers,  pedagog-. 
ical  methods  and  modern  plants.  I  believe  in 
them.  I  believe  that  the  teachers  of  the  past 
as  a  rule  gave  too  little  attention  to  the  mind. 
Sometimes,  indeed,  they  ignored  it  altogether. 
But  what  I  want  to  emphasize  is  the  fact  that 
trained  teachers  and  pedagogical  methods  and 
modern  plants  alone  do  not  and  cannot  make  a 
Sunday-school.  They  cannot  make  a  school 
that  will  bring  forth  the  fruit  the  Sunday- 
school  is  designed  to  bring  forth.  The  great 
business  of  the  Sunday-school  is  to  bring  the 
pupils  in  contact  w4th  the  "Word  of  God,  and 
in  contact  with  a  teacher  whose  life  has  heen 
transformed  hy  that  Word,  with  the  hope  that 
from  the  pages  of  the  printed  book,  or  from  the 
hand-touch  or  heart-touch  of  the  teacher,  there 
may  find  its  way  into  the  heart  of  the  pupil 
that  which  will  transform  his  life  and  develop 
him  into  a  man  like  unto  the  Man  of  Galilee. 
If  a  Sunday-school  succeeds  in  imparting  vital, 
transforming  truth  it  is  a  success  ;  if  it  fails  to 
impart  vital,  transforming  truth  it  is  a  failure. 

What  then  do  I  think  of  trained  teachers 
and  graded  lessons  and  modern  plants  ?  I 
think  they  are  of  value  just  in  so  far  as  they 
help  the  Sunday-school  in  its  chief  business  of 
imparting  vital,  transforming  truth,  and  no 
further.     Other  things   being  equal  they  are 


What  the  Sunday-School  is  For       13 

helpful — exceedingly  helpful — but  they  are  not 
the  fundamental  things,  and  if  we  look  to  them 
alone  or  chiefly  for  great  results  we  shall  be 
disappointed.  I  could  tell  you  of  a  holy  woman 
who  has  been  instrumental  in  the  development 
of  more  boys  into  Christian  men  than  any  dozen 
trained  teachers  I  know,  and  she  does  not  know 
pedagogy  from  a  potato.  Doubtless  she  would 
have  done  still  better  if  she  had  been  trained 
for  her  work,  but  no  amount  of  training  can 
take  the  place  of  that  essential  thing  which  has 
made  her  the  most  successful  Sunday-school 
teacher  in  her  community.  Let  us  have  trained 
teachers  by  all  means,  provided  they  have  that 
essential  thing — provided  they  are  living  epis- 
tles of  Christ  written  so  plainly  that  little 
children  can  read  them  in  their  eyes  and  in 
their  hand-touch ;  provided  love  has  given  them 
the  touch  of  the  artist  that  will  enable  them  to 
mold  the  little  rosy  lumps  of  clay  placed  in 
their  hands  in  the  image  of  the  Christ  who 
lives  in  their  hearts. 


II 

WHAT  THE  TEACHEE  IS  FOE 

I  HA  YE  just  compared  the  teacher  at  work 
to  an  artist  engaged  in  molding  a  lump  of 
clay.  Of  course  if  the  word  molding  is 
taken  in  the  restricted  sense  in  which  it  is 
ordinarily  used  such  a  comparison  would  not 
be  proper.  The  wise  teacher  does  not  take  his 
pupil  in  hand  as  an  artist  takes  a  lump  of 
lifeless  clay  to  do  with  it  as  he  will ;  rather  he 
approaches  his  pupil  as  a  gardener  approaches 
a  tender  plant  to  aid  and  encourage  and  direct 
its  growth.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that 
the  gardener  takes  a  hand  in  the  shaping  of  the 
plant  and  does  not  leave  it  wholly  to  develop- 
ment from  within.  He  follows  JSTature,  which 
does  not  leave  the  shaping  of  plants  wholly  to 
growth  from  within  but  aids  in  the  shaping  by 
bringing  to  bear  upon  them  certain  forces  or 
influences  from  without.  So  then  while  the 
teacher  is  not  a  molder  of  lifeless  clay  (it  would 
be  criminal  for  him  to  undertake  to  shape  a 
child  according  to  his  own  pleasure  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  child's  initiative  and  person- 
ality), he  is  a  molder  of  living  clay  as  the 
gardener  is  a  molder  of  living  plants ;  and  with 
14 


What  the  Teacher  is  For  15 

this  explanation  I  shall  continue  to  use  this 
term  as  most  convenient  for  my  purpose. 

If  you  should  go  to  a  school  of  art  and  your 
teacher  should  place  in  your  hands  a  lump  of 
clay  and  tell  you  to  mold  it,  your  first  duty 
would  be  to  settle  clearly  in  your  mind  just 
what  you  would  try  to  mold.  You  know  that 
you  would  never  make  anything  worth  speak- 
ing of  if  you  did  not  settle  that  matter  and 
settle  it  at  the  beginning.  So  if  God  has 
placed  in  your  hands  a  half-dozen  little  roseate 
lumps  of  living  clay,  and  told  you  to  mold 
them  for  Him,  your  first  duty  would  be  to  settle 
clearly  in  your  mind  just  what  God  expects 
you  to  make  of  them.  If  you  take  the  lump 
of  clay  from  your  art  teacher's  hands,  and  be- 
gin to  press  in  here  and  to  press  out  there  with- 
out thought  or  design,  you  will  never  make 
anything  either  of  the  clay  or  of  yourself,  and 
you  will  have  to  answer  for  the  precious  mo- 
ments which  you  have  frittered  away  in  your 
random  molding.  And  if  you  take  these  little 
rosy  lumps  from  God's  hands — these  half  a 
dozen  pupils  that  have  been  tolled  off  for  your 
class — and  begin  your  work  with  them  without 
thought  or  design,  without  having  a  single  clear 
notion  of  what  you  want  to  accomplish,  you 
will  not  make  anything  either  of  them  or  of 
yourself,  and  you  will  have  to  ansAver  not  only 
for  the  precious  moments  which  you  may  have 


l6     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

frittered  away,  but  also  for  the  precious  lumps 
of  living  clay  which  you  may  mar  in  your 
thoughtless  handling. 

What  does  God  want  me  to  do  with  these 
living,  throbbing,  pliable  little  lumps  of  human 
clay  which  He  has  placed  in  my  hands  ?  This 
is  the  question  you  want  to  answer — and  with- 
out making  yourself  miserable  over  it.  Does 
He  simply  want  me  to  see  to  it  that  they  are 
kept  as  they  are  and  not  permitted  to  be 
marred  ?  This  is  what  some  good  people  you 
and  I  know  seem  to  think.  You  know  they 
never  have  any  higher  ambition  than  just  to 
keep  their  pupils  from  drifting  downward.  It 
is  not  a  question  of  lifting  them  up,  but  of  keep- 
ing them  out  of  the  ditch — of  keeping  them 
respectable  and  thereby  preserving  the  self- 
respect  of  the  teacher. 

Perhaps  you  have  noticed  that  there  are  two 
kinds  of  teachers :  those  who  are  trying  to  save 
their  pupils  and  those  who  are  trying  to  save 
their  self-respect. 

Whatsoever  God  may  have  intended  when 
He  placed  those  pupils  in  my  hands,  I  may  be 
sure  that  He  did  not  intend  to  deposit  them  in 
a  safety  vault.  He  never  gave  a  teacher  a 
talent  to  bury  in  a  napkin. 

I  do  not  need  a  revelation  to  make  it  plain 
that  when  an  unformed,  pliable  living  thing  is 
placed  in  my  hands  it  is  placed  there  for  me  to 


What  the  Teacher  is  For  17 

mold  it — to  use  this  term  again  in  its  broadest 
sense.  The  children  that  have  been  given  me 
have  been  given  me  to  mold.  To  mold  into 
what  ?  you  ask.  Into  men  and  women  ?  Yes ; 
but  not  any  sort  of  men  and  women,  or  your  sort 
of  men  and  women.  This  is  a  matter  which  God 
never  leaves  to  us.  He  may  be  willing  that  we 
may  have  our  own  notions  about  some  things, 
but  He  is  not  willing  that  we  may  have  our  own 
notions  about  these  children  that  He  has  given 
us  to  mold.  The  great  Master-teacher  would 
never  have  placed  a  pupil  in  my  hands  if  He 
had  not  already  prepared  a  Pattern  for  me  to 
work  by.  God  does  not  want  us  to  mold  chil- 
dren into  men  and  women  just  to  be  molding 
them  into  men  and  women.  He  wants  us  to 
mold  them  after  a  certain  pattern,  because  He 
loves  these  children  enough  to  desire  the  best 
for  them,  and  because  He  loves  His  own  Son 
so  much  that  He  is  not  willing  that  these  chil- 
dren shall  be  molded  by  any  other  pattern 
than  that  of  His  Son. 

And  so  we  have  our  question  answered  for 
us.  God  has  given  us  these  children  to  mold 
and  He  has  given  us  a  Pattern  along  with 
them.  "Strive  to  make  these  children  like 
My  Son."  This  is  our  great  order  from  our 
Commander — our  Master-teacher. 

But  how  shall  I  mold  this  child  that  has 
been  placed  in  my  hands  into  the  image  of 


l8     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

Christ?  In  the  first  place  I  must  win  his 
attention  to  Christ.  I  must  get  him  to  think- 
ing about  Christ.  This  is  not  the  work  of  one 
Sunday  or  of  a  month.  It  may  prove  to  be 
the  work  of  years.  For,  to  begin  with,  I  must 
first  win  his  attention  to  myself.  This  does 
not  merely  mean  getting  a  pupil  to  listen  to 
what  I  am  talking  about.  A  child  may  listen 
to  what  I  am  talking  about  and  not  be  inter- 
ested in  me,  but  if  he  is  interested  in  me  he 
may  be  easily  interested  in  what  I  am  talking 
about.  If  you  are  going  to  lead  that  wild, 
frisky  pony  yonder  to  water  you  must  first  get 
hold  of  him  and  bind  him  to  yourself.  And  if 
you  are  going  to  lead  a  child  to  Christ  you 
must  first  get  hold  of  him  and  bind  him  to 
yourself.  You  do  not  think  it  wasted  time  to 
cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  the  pony  who  is 
afraid  to  let  you  come  near  him.  You  cannot 
spend  your  time  better  at  the  beginning  of  your 
work  than  by  cultivating  these  little  ones  who, 
as  yet,  are  unwilling  for  you  to  come  near  them. 
It  is  not  easy  to  lay  down  rules  for  this  sort 
of  thing.  Some  teachers  wiii  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  their  pupils  without  knowing  how 
they  do  it.  Some  teachers  spend  their  lives  in 
an  unsuccessful  effort  to  win  their  pupils  by 
main  strength  and  awkwardness.  The  best 
way  to  win  a  child  is  to  win  him.  The  best 
way  to  get  near  to  a  child  is  to  get  near  to  him. 


What  the  Teacher  is  For  19 

Cultivate  your  love  for  children — not  for  ideal 
childhood,  but  for  real  flesh  and  blood  children ; 
not  for  the  idealized  child — the  pretty  poem  of 
a  child  with  eyes  of  unfathomable  azure — but 
for  the  real  child ;  the  besmeared  child ;  the 
homely  child ;  the  outwardly  repulsive  child. 
Your  love  is  not  a  love  for  children  until 
you  can  get  behind  the  besmeared  face  deep 
down  into  the  unsmeared  heart.  You  would 
be  surprised  to  know  how  much  a  matter  of 
habit  it  may  be.  I  found  my  love  for  children 
growing  luke-warm,  and  I  deliberately  formed 
the  habit  of  interesting  myself  in  every  child 
I  met.  There  is  nothing  like  it.  Walk  the 
streets  with  an  eye  for  children.  Look  straight 
into  the  eyes  of  every  child  you  meet — attractive 
or  unattractive ;  pink  and  white  babe  or  repul- 
sive street  urchin.  Look  straight  into  his  eyes, 
and  with  your  own  send  him  a  bit  of  a  wireless 
message,  and  you  will  soon  find  your  heart 
warming  towards  every  child  in  the  world. 
You  want  to  love  a  child  not  because  he  is  this 
or  that  sort  of  a  child,  but  because  he  is  yet  an 
unformed,  pliable  lump  of  human  clay  capable 
of  being  molded  by  the  grace  of  God  into  the 
image  of  Him  who  is  the  fairest  among  ten 
thousand,  and  altogether  lovely. 


in 

THE  HEAKT  OF  THE  MATTEE 

ARE  we  getting  at  the  heart  of  the 
matter?  That  is  the  question.  Are 
we  getting  at  the  heart  of  the  matter 
in  the  Sunday-school  ?  We  are  doing  things — 
ever  so  many  things — doing  them  vigorously, — 
but  are  we  doing  the  things  that  tell?  We 
are  getting  results,  but  are  we  getting  the  re- 
sults that  are  worth  while  ?  We  have  remod- 
elled the  Sunday-school  room,  and  put  in  a  new 
carpet,  and  put  little  chairs  in  the  primary 
department  so  that  the  babies  can  rest  their 
feet  on  the  floor,  and  we  have  graded  the 
school,  and  we  have  a  new  order  of  exercises, 
and  a  lot  of  new  millinery  and  flummery  and 
all  that ;  but  are  we  getting  at  the  heart  of  the 
matter  ?  Are  we  reaching  the  hearts  of  our 
pupils?  Have  we  any  other  mission  than  to 
reach  the  hearts  of  our  pupils,  and  if  these 
things  that  we  are  doing  are  not  reaching  their 
hearts  are  they  worth  while?  Is  the  game 
worth  the  candle  ?  Is  it  worth  the  trouble  of 
having  a  Sunday-school  if  we  cannot  report 
anything  but  a  good  attendance  and  a  pleasant 
time? 

20 


The  Heart  of  the  Matter  2 1 

How  shall  we  reach  the  hearts  of  our  pupils  ? 
We  are  given  to  saying  that  the  way  to  a  man's 
heart  is  through  his  stomach.  We  don't  quite 
believe  it  when  we  say  it,  but  some  of  us  really 
imagine  that  the  way  to  a  child's  heart  is 
through  picnics  and  Easter  egg-hunts,  and 
pretty  cards  with  little  stars  sewed  on  them, 
and  ribbons  and  tinsel  and  all  sorts  of  gew- 
gaws. These  things  win  a  child's  attention  but 
they  do  not  reach  his  heart.  It  takes  heart  to 
reach  heart.  You  may  reach  a  child's  heart 
with  your  heart  through  your  hand-touch, 
through  love- warmed  lips,  through  love-lit  eyes. 
You  may  reach  a  child's  heart  with  God's  heart 
by  laying  the  Word  which  comes  from  God's 
heart  on  the  child's  mind.  If  you  are  not 
reaching  the  hearts  of  your  pupils  in  either  of 
these  ways  you  are  not  reaching  them :  there 
is  no  other  way. 

How  can  I  lay  the  Word  of  God  on  the 
minds  of  my  pupils  so  that  it  may  find  its  way 
down  into  their  hearts  ?  In  the  first  place,  I 
must  get  possession  of  the  Word  myself.  I 
cannot  lay  it  on  the  mind  of  the  pupil  if  I  do 
not  have  it  on  my  own  mind.  I  must  possess 
the  Truth — God's  revelation  of  Himself.  More- 
over, that  Word  is  not  likely  to  find  its  way 
down  into  the  heart  of  the  pupil  unless  it  has 
found  its  way  into  my  own  heart.  I  must  not 
only  possess  the  Truth  but  the  Truth  must  pos- 


22     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

sess  me.  And  I  am  not  going  to  get  possession 
of  it  by  looking  up  the  subject  and  the  Golden 
Text  on  the  way  to  Sunday-school.  If  I  am 
going  to  put  anything  into  the  minds  of  my 
pupils  I  must  have  something  in  my  own  mind, 
and  if  I  am  going  to  fill  up  my  own  mind  I 
must  go  to  work  and  dig  it  out  of  my  Bible  with 
the  aid  of  the  best  lesson  helps  I  can  find.  If  I 
had  to  teach  a  class  about  baseball  next  Sunday, 
and  I  knew  nothing  more  about  it  than  the  aver- 
age man  knows  about  his  Bible  would  I  buy  a 
half-cent  leaflet  of  instructions  about  baseball, 
and  take  it  home  and  put  it  away  and  forget  it, 
and  go  spinning  around  in  search  of  it  Sunday 
morning,  and  hurriedly  read  it  over  as  I  hur- 
ried up  the  street  to  Sunday-school  ?  Wouldn't 
I  be  ashamed  to  go  before  that  class  knowing 
as  little  about  baseball  as  I  usually  know  about 
the  Bible  lesson  ?  Wouldn't  I  find  out  every- 
thing I  could  about  baseball  from  all  the  books 
and  pamphlets  and  leaflets  and  "  rooters  "  and 
"  fans  "  I  could  lay  my  hands  on  ?  And  if  I 
kept  getting  hold  of  baseball  knowledge  until 
it  got  hold  of  me  would  I  not  get  hold  of  my 
pupils?  Wouldn't  I  get  at  the  heart  of  the 
matter  ?  Wouldn't  I  get  at  the  hearts  of  my 
pupils  ? 

We  might  as  well  face  this  matter  squarely. 
We  try  to  persuade  ourselves  that  our  Sunday- 
school  is  a  success  because  we  have  the  largest 


The  Heart  of  the  Matter  23 

average  attendance  or  the  best  offerings,  or 
because  we  are  graded  up  to  date,  but  unless 
our  teachers  are  really  teaching — unless  they 
are  reaching  the  hearts  and  minds  of  their 
pupils  with  the  saving  truths  of  the  lesson — our 
school  is  a  failure.  It  makes  no  difference  what 
kind  of  a  show  we  may  make,  it  makes  no  dif- 
ference what  the  distinguished  visitor  thinks  of 
our  up-to-date  methods  and  our  fine  singing,  it 
makes  no  difference  how  high  we  may  stand 
in  the  statistical  reports  of  our  Sunday-school 
association — if  we  are  not  reaching  the  hearts 
of  our  pupils  with  the  Truth  that  saves,  that 
transforms  us  into  the  image  of  Christ,  we  are 
not  fulfilling  our  mission  and  our  school  is  a 
failure.  And  we  are  not  going  to  put  the 
Truth  into  the  hearts  of  our  pupils  until  we 
have  set  our  own  hearts  on  fire  with  it.'  If 
your  school  is  equipped  with  teachers  who  burn 
with  desire  to  know  the  Word  of  God  and  who 
study  that  Word  until  their  blood  fairly  tingles 
with  desire  to  impart  it  to  their  pupils  you  have 
a  successful  Sunday-school  though  you  may 
have  no  equipment  but  a  log  to  sit  on.  Let 
us  not  deceive  ourselves.  The  Sunday-school 
is  not  going  to  be  saved  by  this  or  that  new 
method,  or  contrivance,  or  theory ;  it  is  going 
to  be  saved  by  saved  and  saving  teachers ! 

*  "  How  may  we  set  our  hearts  on  fire?  "    See  page  139. 


IV 
THE  VEEY  FIEST  SECEET 

THE  reason  a  great  many  teachers  never 
accomplish  anything  is  because  they 
never  aim  at  anything.  If  you  go 
into  business  or  politics,  you  go  vdth  the  ex- 
pectation of  arriving.  You  go  into  it  to  ac- 
complish something  and  you  knov7  v^hat  you 
want  to  accomplish.  I  have  seen  some  people 
just  drop  into  business  and  they  dropped  to  the 
bottom.  So  with  politics.  So  with  everything. 
No  man  who  just  drops  into  a  thing  ever  attains 
to  anything.  You  never  drop  upward.  Yet 
thousands  of  men  and  women  every  year  drop 
into  teaching  and  wonder  why  they  strike 
bottom.  That  is  what  we  always  strike  when 
we  fail  to  strike  for  something  higher. 

Jones  took  a  class  because  the  superintendent 
asked  him.  Smith  took  a  class  because  his  wife 
kept  after  him.  Brown  took  a  class  because 
his  conscience  would  not  let  hiin  be  idle.  All 
three  just  "  dropped  "  into  teaching.  And  all 
three  dropped  to  the  bottom.  Then  there 
was  Williams.  Williams  took  it  into  his  head 
that  he  wanted  to  do  something  for  his  Master. 
It  weighed  on  his  mind  day  and  night.  "What 
24 


The  Very  First  Secret  25 

can  I  do  that  will  count  most  for  His  cause  ?  " 
he  asked  himself  day  after  day.  Williams  was 
always  ambitious.  He  was  never  content  with 
less  than  the  best.  When  he  proposed  to  do 
something  for  his  Master,  he  proposed  to  do 
the  very  best  thing.  What  better  thing  could 
he  do  than  mold  a  life — a  dozen  lives— after  the 
image  of  his  Master  ?  He  would  do  that  very 
thing.  He  would  go  to  the  superintendent  and 
ask  for  a  class.  Not  that  he  might  have  a  class, 
not  that  he  might  have  something  to  do,  not 
that  he  might  have  a  quiet  conscience,  but  that 
he  might  have  an  opportunity  to  mold  a  life 
after  the  image  of  his  Master.  He  went.  He 
got  the  class.  He  got  to  work.  He  kept  his 
eye  on  the  goal.  The  goal  was  high.  He 
began  to  climb.  He  has  been  climbing  ever 
since.  His  teaching  has  improved  every  Sun- 
day. Likewise  his  ability  to  win  and  manage 
his  pupils.  Likewise  his  love  for  his  pupils. 
And  the  work  of  molding  is^going  on.  Johnny 
has  given  his  heart  to  Christ.  Charley  has 
gotten  rid  of  his  miserable  selfish  ways.  Bob, 
the  eternal  bother,  is  developing  into  a  hero. 
Williams  is  "getting  there."  He  is  arriving 
because  when  he  started  he  started  somewhere. 
If  you  want  to  be  a  successful  teacher  aim  at 
something  ! 


WHEEE  TO  BEGIN 

MOST  beginners  try  to  find  out  what 
is  the  teacher's  hardest  problem,  and 
then  undertake  to  solve  that.  That 
is  just  what  you  should  not  do.  You  ought  not 
to  know  what  is  the  teacher's  hardest  problem. 
At  least,  there  are  a  great  many  things  you 
need  to  know  before  you  will  need  to  know 
that.  You  should  want  to  know  what  is  the 
least  problem  to  begin  with,  and  I  am  not  sure 
you  will  need  to  go  to  any  one  about  that,  for 
you  will  run  against  it  soon  enough  and  when 
you  do  you  will  recognize  it.  After  that  you 
will  want  to  know  what  is  the  next  to  the  least, 
and  the  next,  and  the  next,  and  the  next ;  and 
by  and  by  when  you  have  cut  your  eye-teeth  in 
the  teaching  service  it  may  or  may  not  be  worth 
your  while  to  sit  down  and  try  to  decide  what 
is  the  greatest  of  all  the  problems  with  which 
the  teacher  has  to  do. 

It  is  one  of  the  mistakes  we  are  always  mak- 
ing.    We  want  to  try  the  hard  things  first. 
We  don't  like  A  B  C's ;  we  prefer  graduating 
theses.     The  first  day  you  took  drawing  lessons 
26 


Where  to  Begin  27 

you  thought  you  would  like  to  try  your  hand 
on  the  Angelus.  Happily  there  was  one  near 
by  with  the  wisdom  and  authority  to  say :  "  E'o, 
not  yet."  But  unhappily  when  a  teacher  enters 
upon  his  work  there  is  usually  no  one  to  look 
over  his  shoulder,  and  he  is  left  to  follow  the 
devices  of  his  own  heart.  I  want  to  save  you 
from  the  discouragement  which  inevitably 
comes  sooner  or  later  to  every  teacher  who  is 
ambitious  to  master  the  greatest  difficulties  at 
the  beginning.  You  do  not  want  to  wrestle 
with  any  great  problems  now.  You  do  not 
want  to  devour  all  the  books  on  pedagogy  the 
first  year.  I  would  not  trouble  myself  very 
much  now  about  an  elaborate  equipment.  I 
would  not  allow  myself  to  become  interested 
in  the  beginning  in  the  science  of  teaching. 
Art  first,  then  science.  I  would  not  become 
unduly  exercised  over  the  problems  which  lie 
at  the  foundation  of  teaching.  For  example,  I 
would  not  puzzle  my  mind  over  what  the  new 
psychology  is  teaching  us  about  adolescence. 
As  for  Froebel  I  would  treat  him  as  most  people 
nowadays  treat  Milton — as  one  to  be  admired 
rather  than  read.  Not  that  you  will  never  have 
use  for  Froebel.  There  will  come  a  day  when 
you  will  bind  him  to  your  brain  and  heart  as 
with  hooks  of  steel.  But  to-day  you  want  to 
confine  yourself  to  simple  matters.  You  want 
to  dare  to  remain  ignorant  f  o  the  great  ques- 


28     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

tions  while  you  try  for  a  little  while  to  master 
a  few  of  the  simplest  things  in  teaching. 

And  you  need  to  learn  these  things  more  at 
the  beginning  by  the  study  of  your  own  heart 
and  mind  and  the  study  of  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  your  pupils  than  by  the  study  of  books.  Of 
course  you  should  study  books,  but  a  child  needs 
to  study  the  geography  of  his  own  neighbour- 
hood with  his  own  eyes  before  he  needs  a 
text-book  to  study  the  geography  of  other 
neighbourhoods.  Begin  at  the  beginning. 
Question  your  own  heart.  First  of  all  I  would 
settle  this  matter  of  the  teacher's  motive — 
rather,  of  your  own  motive.  Why  did  you 
accept  the  call  to  teach  a  class  ?  Whose  call 
did  you  accept  ?  Did  you  enter  upon  your 
work  deliberately  and  with  intelligent  purpose, 
or  did  you  drop  into  it  ?  Or  were  you  dragged 
into  it  ?  I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  if  you 
came  into  this  service  with  a  poor  motive,  or 
without  any  motive  at  all,  you  should  im- 
mediately retire  from  it.  Many  a  man  has 
started  in  a  good  cause  with  a  very  poor  motive 
and  has  found  a  better  one  on  the  way.  But  I  do 
insist  that  until  you  have  come  into  possession 
of,  and  have  become  possessed  by,  a  worthy 
motive  you  are  not  going  to  accomplish  any- 
thing worth  accomplishing  as  a  teacher,  and  if 
your  mind  is  not  perfectly  clear  on  this  point 
your  very  first  duty  is  to  make  it  clear. 


Where  to  Begin  29 

Settle  this  question  of  motive  and  settle  it 
now.  What  am  I  aiming  at  ?  What  do  I  want 
to  accomplish?  What  sort  of  a  record  do  I 
want  to  make  for  myself  as  a  teacher  ?  What 
sort  of  a  record  do  I  want  to  make  for  my  pu- 
pils ?  What  do  I  want  to  do  for  my  pupils  ? 
A  great  many  teachers  have  found  it  very  easy 
to  answer  this  last  question  to  very  little  pur- 
pose. They  want  to  do  their  pupils  "  good." 
Of  course.  But  it  is  easy  to  deceive  oneself 
with  hazy  mottoes,  and  "  doing  good  "  is  one 
of  them.  A  motive,  to  be  of  any  service,  must 
be  clear  cut.  It  must  blaze  like  the  sun  at  the 
meridian.  The  teacher  above  all  men  has  no 
business  with  vague  generalities.  He  must  be 
specific.  In  what  specific  way  do  I  want  to  do 
good  ?  If  I  am  to  be  a  help  to  a  pupil  in  general 
I  must  be  a  help  to  him  in  particular.  And 
just  here  let  me  warn  you  against  the  notion  of 
helping  your  pupil  simply  as  a  pupil.  The  fact 
is  "  pupil "  is  a  dangerous  word.  It  is  almost 
as  dangerous  as  ^'  class."  The  teacher  who  falls 
into  the  habit  of  thinking  and  speaking  of  his 
*'  class  "  requires  of  his  heart  an  impossibility. 
His  heart  cannot  love  a  class.  No  one  ever 
became  deeply  concerned  about  a  class.  We 
become  concerned  about  individuals,  not  about 
classes,  congregations  or  crowds.  There  is  the 
same  danger  in  the  use  of  the  word  "  soul."  A 
great  many  pious  people  are  always  talking 


30     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

about  saving  the  souls  of  men.  They  have 
been  thinking  of  the  soul  as  something  apart 
from  the  man,  and  while  their  concern  for  that 
impalpable  something  has  increased,  their  in- 
terest in  the  palpable  man  has  evaporated. 
And  so  I  would  not  ask  in  what  way  do  I  want 
to  help  the  "  souls  "  of  my  "  pupils,"  but  in  what 
way  do  I  want  to  help  John,  and  Mary,  and 
Henry  ? 


VI 

KNOW  THYSELF 

EYEEY  teacher  teaches  two  lessons  at  a 
time — one  from  his  lesson  help  and  the 
other  from  himself.  What  he  teaches 
from  the  lesson  help  often  goes  wide  of  the 
mark;  but  the  teaching  that  goes  out  from 
himself — his  personality,  his  character,  his  life 
— ^goes  without  aim  or  effort  straight  to  the 
hearts  of  his  pupils.  The  brightest  child  in  the 
class  may  fail  to  grasp  the  truth  that  comes 
from  the  teacher's  lips,  but  the  dullest  child  in 
the  class  will  not  fail  to  absorb  the  truth  that 
comes  from  the  teacher's  life. 

I  know  a  good-natured,  loud-voiced,  harum- 
scarum  sort  of  a  girl — not  a  very  young  girl 
either — who  has  been  teaching  for  I  know  not 
how  many  years.  I  do  not  believe  that  she 
has  ever  succeeded  in  teaching  a  lesson  given 
her  to  teach,  but  she  has  been  the  most  success- 
ful teacher  of  irreverence  and  disorder  I  have 
ever  known.  She  not  only  teaches  these  two 
subjects  to  her  own  class  but  she  teaches  them 
to  all  the  classes  in  her  part  of  the  schoolroom 
— and  without  even  trying. 

I  could  tell  you  about  a  man  whose  faithful- 
s' 


32     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

ness  in  sticking  to  Sunday-school  work  is  a 
proverb,  but  whose  adhesive  qualities,  when  it 
comes  to  sticking  to  the  truth,  are  not  of  the 
best,  and  who  has  raised  a  class  of  boys  that 
are  as  proficient  in  the  unholy  art  of  prevarica- 
tion as  any  gang  of  hobos  you  will  find  on  the 
street. 

And  I  could  tell  you  about  a  woman — and 
you  could  tell  me  about  one  too — who  has  yet 
to  learn  the  simplest  rules  of  the  art  of  teaching, 
but  who  has  never  been  to  her  class  without 
teaching  successfully  some  lesson  in  the  art  of 
being  kind  or  gentle  or  charitable — and  all 
without  knowing  that  she  was  teaching  any- 
thing at  all. 

It  is  not  what  the  teacher  teaches  purposely 
or  by  earnest  effort  that  goes  deepest  into  the 
hearts  of  his  pupils,  but  what  he  teaches  un- 
consciously and  without  any  purpose  at  all.  It 
is  not  what  the  teacher  says  so  much  as  what 
he  is  that  makes  for  success  in  his  holy  calling. 

If  this  is  true  then  it  ought  to  go  without 
saying  that  the  best  part  of  a  teacher's  prepara- 
tion for  his  class  is  the  preparation  of  himself. 
He  may  spend  a  whole  week  in  an  intelligent 
study  of  the  lesson,  and  in  a  sympathetic  study 
of  his  pupils,  and  in  deciding  upon  the  applica- 
tion of  the  truths  of  the  lesson  to  the  needs  of 
his  pupils,  but  if  he  does  not  go  further  it  would 
perhaps  be  just  as  well  if  he  did  not  go  to  his 


Know  Thyself  33 

class  at  all.  The  teacher  sits  before  his  class 
as  its  supreme  object  lesson.  He  is  always  be- 
fore his  pupils.  They  are  always  within  his 
reach.  He  is  always  teaching  them  whether 
he  intends  to  teach  them  or  not.  He  is  always 
teaching  whether  his  pupils  intend  that  they 
shall  be  taught  or  not.  No  one  but  a  corpse 
can  sit  in  the  presence  of  children  without 
teaching  them  some  lesson,  and  even  a  corpse 
will  teach  them  one  lesson. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  pupils  are  going 
to  pattern  after  the  teacher  in  all  things.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  if  he  is  always  gentle  they 
will  be  always  gentle,  or  if  he  is  peevish  and  im- 
patient he  is  going  to  teach  them  to  be  peevish 
and  impatient.  But  he  is  going  to  teach  them, 
all  the  same.  The  little  child  who  thinks  that 
whatever  teacher  does  is  right  is  going  to  be 
taught  gentle  ways  by  the  teacher's  gentleness. 
The  big  boy  who  has  reached  the  point  where 
he  does  not  find  it  easy  to  trust  anybody  is  not 
going  to  be  taught  impatience  by  the  teacher's 
impatience,  but  when  the  teacher  exhibits  im- 
patience he  is  going  to  say  to  himself  that  if 
that  is  religion  he  does  not  want  any  of  it. 
Every  time  a  teacher  exhibits  an  unchristian 
temper  in  the  presence  of  little  children  they 
are  taught  that  it  is  all  right  because  teacher 
does  it :  and  every  time  a  teacher  exhibits  an 
unchristian  temper  in  the  presence  of  older 


34     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

pupils  he  drives  them  further  and  further  away 
from  the  Christian  life. 

And  so  while  it  is  an  exceedingly  important 
thing  to  know  your  lesson  and  to  have  it  well 
in  hand,  it  is  a  far  more  important  thing  for 
you  to  know  yourself  and  to  have  yourself  well 
in  hand.  You  may  sometimes  be  compelled  to 
go  to  your  class  without  having  mastered  your 
lesson,  but  you  are  never  under  obligation  to 
go  to  your  class  without  having  first  mastered 
yourself.  Spend  the  last  moments  before  going 
to  Sunday-school  in  getting  this  mastery.  Find 
your  way  into  the  presence  of  the  Master. 
Have  Him  cleanse  your  heart  anew  and  fill  you 
with  His  Spirit.  Kemain  in  His  presence  until 
your  heart  is  in  a  glow  and  your  face  reflects 
the  light  that  shines  from  His  face ;  until  all 
the  harsher  things  in  your  nature  disappear  and 
love  reigns  supreme ;  until  you  are  full  of  sweet- 
ness and  gentleness  and  loving  kindness.  Ke- 
call  your  ideal.  Think  a  little  while  on  high 
planes.  Climb  by  prayer  up  to  the  heights 
where  petty  things  cease  to  vex;  where  it  is 
easy  to  be  patient ;  where  trying  circumstances 
are  no  longer  trying ;  where  one  can  suffer  with 
a  smile ;  where  one  can  love  the  unlovely  and 
the  unlovable. 

And  always  try  to  go  to  Sunday-school  by 
way  of  this  mountain  top. 


VII 

HOW  TO  KEEP  WIDE  AWAKE 

MENTAL  stagnation  is  the  secret  of 
half  of  our  woes.  I  would  not  say 
that  there  is  a  lack  of  mentality  in 
our  Sunday-schools,  but  there  is  often  a  distress- 
ing repugnance  to  mental  exercise.  So  many 
of  our  teachers  get  up  on  Sunday  morning  with 
the  feeling  that  it  is  only  children's  work  to- 
day and  there  is  no  need  to  shake  one's  self  to 
get  very  wide  awake.  And  they  don't  shake 
themselves.  They  come  to  Sunday-school 
aroused  just  enough  to  know  where  they  are 
and  to  go  through  the  motion — with  a  yawn. 
Watch  one  of  these  drowsy  souls  going  through 
the  motion.  He  takes  up  his  lesson  magazine — 
teachers  of  his  sort  always  carry  lesson  helps 
to  Sunday-school — and  turns  the  leaves  wearily 
to  find  the  lesson.  He  did  that  the  night 
before  when  he  was  so  sleepy  he  could  hardly 
find  the  place.  He  read  the  lesson  over — 
walked  through  it  as  it  were — and  left  it  where 
it  was  and  went  to  bed.  Not  an  idea  had  en- 
tered his  head.  And  on  this  bright  Sunday 
morning  he  has  come  to  Sunday-school  as  inno- 
cent of  ideas  as  a  post.  And  he  is  so  sleepy  ! 
35 


36     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

He  has  a  drowsy  hope  that  now  the  lesson 
must  be  taught  something  will  come  to  him  to 
teach.  He  likes  to  think  that  man's  extremity 
is  God's  opportunity.  And  he  lifts  up  his 
sleepy  heart  to  God  and  tells  Him  that  now  is 
His  time.  And  then  he  proceeds,  still  wearily, 
to  ask  such  questions  as  he  can  find  in  the 
magazine.  There  is  a  fear  that  he  will  yet 
have  to  stick  pins  in  himself  to  keep  awake. 
And  presently  before  he  is  aware  the  bell 
rings.  It  does  not  startle  him.  He  is  not 
sorry  to  be  interrupted.  What  he  has  been 
doing  is  of  no  consequence  anyway.  And  so 
he  takes  it  as  a  matter  of  course  and  closes  his 
magazine — with  another  yawn. 

Isn't  this  an  extreme  case  ?  Certainly ;  but 
between  this  teacher  of  the  chronic  yawn  and 
the  wide-awake  teacher  who  is  bringing  things 
to  pass  there  is  a  vast  stretch  of  men  and 
women  in  every  conceivable  stage  of  mental 
stagnation.  And  these  are  the  people  who  are 
making  our  Sunday-school  problems  for  us. 
What  you  want  to  do,  dear  teacher,  is  to  take 
one  good  look  at  this  drowsy  army  and  then 
forever  hereafter  cherish  as  your  greatest 
horror  the  thought  of  ever  going  over  to  it. 

Save  yourseK  from  stagnation  and  you  will 
save  your  pupils  from  starvation. 

How  may  one  overcome  mental  stagnation  ? 
Just  as  one  overcomes  any  other  sort  of  stag- 


How  to  Keep  Wide  Awake  37 

nation.     If  it  is  a  pond  of  stagnant  water  we 
provide  an  outlet  and  start  a  stream  of  pure 
fresh  water  through  at  the  other  end.     And  if 
we  want  to  save  it  permanently  from  stagna- 
tion we  keep  the  outlet  open  and  we  keep  the 
pure  fresh  stream  running  through  it  forever. 
It  is  a  matter  of  eternal  movement.     We  must 
keep  pouring  out  and  we  must  keep  pouring  in. 
Pouring  out  is  not  enough.     If  you  continually 
give  out  from  your  mind  and  take  nothing  into 
it  you  will  soon  become  a  mental  bankrupt. 
Pouring  in  is  not  enough.     If  you  continually 
receive  into  your  mind  and  give  nothing  forth 
you  will  become  as  helpless  as  a  stuffed  goose. 
If  you  want  to  keep  mentally  alert  you  must  see 
to  it  that  something  is  continually  going  out  of 
your  mind  and  that  something  is  continually 
coming  into  it.     You  must  be  continually  ac- 
quiring  knowledge  and    ideas    and    inspiring 
truths,  and  you  must  be  continually  sharing 
with    others    the    knowledge    and  ideas   and 
inspiring  truths   which  come  to  you.     As  a 
teacher    you  have  abundant    opportunity    to 
make  use  of  all  that  you  may  acquire.     The 
most  important  thing  to  you  is  to  acquire  all 
that  you  can  make  use  of.     If  you  are  going  to 
be  a  good  teacher  you  must  be  a  good  reader. 
You  must  sharpen  your  mind  by  contact  with 
other  minds.     You  must  fill  up  your  mind  with 
ideas  of  other  minds.    You  must  be  a  good 


38     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

learner.  One  of  our  most  serious  problems  is 
just  here.  We  cannot  get  our  teachers  to  read. 
A  live  lawyer  reads  up  on  his  cases,  and  a  live 
doctor  reads  up  on  his  cases.  If  the  lawyer 
and  doctor  cease  to  read  up  on  their  cases  it  is 
only  a  question  of  time  when  they  will  cease 
to  have  any  cases  to  read  up  on.  The  teacher 
needs  to  read  up  on  his  cases  just  as  truly  as 
the  lawyer  or  the  doctor.  He  needs  to  read  up 
on  the  lesson  for  the  next  Sunday.  He  needs 
to  read  up  on  the  art  of  teaching.  He  needs  to 
read  up  on  the  art  of  management.  He  needs 
to  read  all  the  good  books  on  child  study.  He 
needs  to  read  his  pupils.  And  occasionally  he 
needs  to  read  himself  to  find  out  for  himself 
who  he  is  and  what  are  his  motives  and  what 
he  is  about.  Your  drowsy  teacher  manages  to 
pull  through  a  single  lesson  help  Saturday 
night  and  if  you  suggest  trying  an  additional 
help  he  tells  you  that  he  has  more  than  he  can 
manage  already.  But  when  a  teacher  with  a 
live  brain  has  gone  through  one  lesson  help  he 
has  just  gotten  his  appetite  whetted.  He 
wants  more.  And  he  reads  all  the  lesson  helps 
he  can  buy,  beg  or  borrow. 

The  teacher  should  make  the  same  sort  of 
mental  preparation  for  his  class  that  the  public 
speaker  makes,  l^o  public  speaker  that  has  a 
reputation  to  sustain  would  dare  to  go  before 
an  audience  with  his  mind  asleep.     He  first 


How  to  Keep  Wide  Awake  39 

wakes  himself  up.  He  goes  over  the  address 
that  he  is  to  deliver  and  gets  the  outline  clearly 
in  his  mind.  He  thinks  over  the  matter  until 
he  becomes  aroused.  If  he  has  difficulty  in 
arousing  himself  over  what  he  is  going  to  say 
he  takes  up  a  stirring  book  and  reads  a  chapter 
in  that.  He  does  anything,  everything  that 
can  possibly  wake  him  up  and  set  his  heart  on 
fire.  If  your  work  is  to  be  worth  while  you 
must  find  time  before  you  go  to  Sunday-school 
to  wake  up  your  mind.  You  must  get  up 
early  enough  to  wake  it  up.  And  you  must 
not  go  until  you  are  awake  even  if  you  must 
get  there  late. 


VIII 
HOW  TO  STIE  UP  YOUE  ENTHUSIASM 

A  LITTLE  girl  went  to  church  for  the 
first  time  and  came  away  deeply  im- 
pressed by  the  often  repeated  petition, 
"  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,  miserable  sinners." 
And  all  through  the  week  the  little  thing  was 
going  around  the  house  with  her  little  hands 
folded  and  uttering  in  a  low  tone,  "  Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  us  miserable  sinners;  Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  us  miserable  sinners."  One  day 
her  father  overheard  her  in  the  hall  and  said  to 
her,  "  Yes,  my  darling,  we  are  all  miserable  sin 
ners."  She  looked  up  into  his  face  in  surprise 
and  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  no,  papa,  we  ain't ! " 
"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  we  are  all  miserable  sinners." 
**  But,  papa,  not  sho  nuff ;  not  weally."  And 
this  dear  little  thing,  even  at  her  tender  age, 
had  already  learned  that  a  great  many  things 
that  we  may  say  in  this  world  are  merely 
make-believes.  We  don't  mean  them  "sho 
nuff;  weally." 

I  think  sometimes  that  this  is  our  chief 
trouble  in  our  Sunday-school  work.  We  insist 
that  the  Sunday-school  is  the  biggest  thing  in 
the  world,  that  the  work  of  molding  a  little 
life  in  the  image  of  Christ  is  the  greatest  work 
40 


How  to  Stir  Up  Your  Enthusiasm     41 

m  the  world;  but  when  we  go  to  our  work 
we  say  by  our  actions,  which  speak  louder  than 
words,  that  we  don't  mean  it  "sho  nuff; 
weally."  And  because  we  don't  mean  it  "  sho 
nuff  "  we  have  no  enthusiasm  for  our  work. 

J^ow  enthusiasm  is  something  we  have  got 
to  have  or  our  work  will  not  be  worth  while. 
How  can  we  stir  up  our  enthusiasm?  One 
way  is  to  think  about  our  work — not  about  the 
discouraging  things  that  relate  to  our  own  ef- 
forts, but  about  the  stirring  things  that  relate 
to  our  work  as  a  whole.  For  example,  let  me 
give  you  two  rousing  facts  that  will  warm  your 
heart  every  time  you  revert  to  them.  One  of 
these  is  the  fact  that  it  was  Jesus  who  first  ex- 
alted the  child  to  his  true  place  in  the  world. 
Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  that  you  may  search 
pagan  literature  in  vain  for  a  word  that  may 
be  interpreted  as  a  worthy  estimate  of  child- 
hood ?  Paganism  never  dreamed  of  giving  the 
child  the  first  place  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven : 
it  does  not  even  give  him  a  footstool  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  The  heathen  world  valued 
a  child  not  for  what  he  was  but  for  what  he 
would  become.  The  child  was  only  the  promise 
of  which  man  was  the  fulfillment.  It  was  Jesus 
who  first  taught  that  the  child  is  worthy  of  our 
thoughts  for  what  he  is  in  himself  without  re- 
gard to  what  he  may  become.  He  did  not  look 
upon    the    dead    child   as  a  bud  of  promise 


42     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

blighted.  "The  maid  is  not  dead  but  sleep 
eth."  And  He  did  not  value  the  child  as 
father  to  the  man.  He  valued  him  for  ihe 
spirit  that  was  in  him — the  spirit  which  pecul- 
iarly fitted  him  to  become  a  subject  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven ;  the  spirit  which  gives  one 
the  right  to  a  high  place  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  This  idea  the  world  never  had,  and 
even  after  Jesus  came  the  world  was  so  slow 
to  receive  it  that  it  was  not  until  the  days  of 
Froebel  that  men  began  to  realize  its  full  mean- 
ing, for  it  was  Froebel  who  first  showed  the 
folly  of  educating  a  child  as  a  man  in  embryo. 

In  the  literature  of  the  Jews  you  will  find 
an  apparent  exception.  As  Trumbull  has 
pointed  out  the  writings  of  the  rabbis  teem 
with  sentiments  which  would  flow  naturally 
from  the  pen  of  the  most  progressive  Christian 
teacher  of  our  own  day.  The  education  of  the 
child  is  boldly  declared  to  be  the  greatest  duty 
of  man.  The  school  is  the  greatest  institution 
in  the  world.  The  calling  of  the  teacher  is  the 
greatest  calling  in  the  world.  "He  who 
teaches  the  child  of  his  fellow  man,"  says  a 
Talmudic  proverb,  "  shall  occupy  a  prominent 
place  among  the  saints  above."  "The  true 
guardians  of  the  city  are  the  teachers."  "  The 
child  must  not  be  detained  from  the  schools 
even  though  it  might  help  build  the  temple." 
"  He  who  refuses  a  pupil  one  lesson  has,  as  it 


How  to  Stir  Up  Your  Enthusiasm     43 

were,  robbed  him  of  his  parental  inheritance." 
But  while  these  sayings  indicate  that  the  Jews 
laid  great  stress  upon  the  training  of  the  young, 
the  exception,  as  Trumbull  insists,  is  only  seem- 
ing, for  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  Jews  had 
any  such  conception  of  the  exaltation  of  the 
child  as  that  which  Jesus  taught.  They  did  not 
value  the  child  for  what  he  was  but  only  for 
what  he  was  to  become. 

The  other  fact  about  which  you  need  to  re- 
fresh your  memory  now  and  then  is  that  since 
the  days  of  Jesus  pure  and  undefiled  religion 
has  prospered  just  in  proportion  as  the  Church 
has  emulated  the  example  of  our  Lord  and  set 
the  child  in  the  midst.  Whenever  the  Church 
has  been  dominated  by  the  thought  that  while 
the  most  serious  business  in  life  is  living  the 
next  most  serious  business  is  teaching  children 
how  to  live,  religion  has  prospered  regardless  of 
all  adverse  conditions.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  the  interest  of  the  Church  in  children'and 
in  childhood  has  declined  religion  has  declined 
regardless  of  all  favouring  conditions.  From 
the  very  beginning  the  men  to  whom  was  com- 
mitted the  spreading  of  the  Gospel  took  to 
heart  the  injunctions  of  our  blessed  Lord  to  feed 
the  lambs  of  the  flock.  The  apostles  were 
teachers  as  well  as  preachers.  Note  how  often 
it  is  said  that  they  taught  as  well  as  preached 
the  Word  of  God.      As  Christianity  spread 


44     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

children  were  gathered  together  in  every  com- 
munity for  catechetical  instruction  in  the  ele- 
ments of  faith,  while  in  the  great  circles  of 
population  larger  schools  were  established  for 
more  advanced  instruction.  After  the  days  of 
the  apostles  Christianity  was  spread  largely  by 
means  of  the  work  done  in  the  Bible  schools. 
"It  is  a  remarkable  fact,"  says  Dr.  Schaff, 
"  that  after  the  days  of  the  apostles  no  names 
of  great  missionaries  are  mentioned  till  the 
opening  of  the  Middle  Ages.  There  were  no 
missionary  societies,  no  missionary  institutions, 
no  organized  efforts  in  the  Ante-Nicene  age, 
and  yet  in  less  than  three  hundred  years  from 
the  death  of  St.  John  the  whole  population  of 
the  Koman  Empire,  which  then  represented 
the  civilized  world,  was  nominally  Christian- 
ized." In  the  fourth  century  when  Julian  the 
Apostate  raised  his  hand  against  the  Church  he 
saw  that  the  very  life  of  Christianity  pivoted 
upon  the  religious  training  of  the  young,  and 
his  fiercest  blow  was  aimed  at  the  Christian 
teachers  in  the  schools  of  the  empire.  One 
trembles  to  think  what  would  have  happened  if 
Julian  had  lived  long  enough  to  close  the  Chris- 
tian schools  and  rid  all  other  schools  of  the 
empire  of  Christian  teachers. 

"  Thus,"  says  Trumbull,'  "  it  is  clear  that  the 

^  "  Yale  Lectures  on  the  Sunday-school  "  (Chas.  Scribner's 
Sons,  N.  Y.), 


How  to  Stir  Up  Your  Enthusiasm     45 

early  Christian  Church  was  not  unfaithful  to 
its  trust  or  unmindful  of  the  duty  imposed  upon 
it  by  the  Great  Commission.  It  organized 
Bible  schools  far  and  near  as  a  means  of  in- 
structing its  converts  and  of  training  its  mem- 
bership. And  so  it  continued  to  do  so  long  as 
it  wisely  followed  the  injunctions  of  its  Divine 
Founder.  But  as  it  grew  in  worldly  prominence 
and  lost  in  spiritual  life  changes  came  in  the 
methods  of  its  training  work.  Its  ritual  serv- 
ices were  expanded  and  its  teaching  exercises 
were  diminished."  Profit  says  that  "  when  the 
ecclesiastical  spirit  overcame  the  evangelical 
the  Church  grew  worldly  in  her  instructions, 
making  more  of  a  splendid  ritual  than  of  a  pure 
faith,  and  magnifying  church  orthodoxy  above 
vital  piety,  catechetical  instruction,  of  course, 
declined."  And  Lea,  in  his  history  of  the  In- 
quisition, shows  conclusively  that  the  decline  of 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  Church  was  attributed 
to  the  neglect  of  the  Church  of  its  educational 
function. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  what  a  responsibil- 
ity rests  upon  the  Sunday-school  teacher  ! 


IX 

A  SETTLED  MIND 

THEEE  are  few  greater  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  a  teacher's  success  than  an  un- 
settled mind.  I  do  not  mean  an  open 
mind— a  true  student  always  keeps  his  mind 
open, — but  a  mind  that  is  always  in  a  state  of 
uncertainty  and  unrest.  If  you  never  know 
what  to  believe, — if  your  mind  is  like  a  reed 
that  bends  before  every  wind, — if  you  cannot 
hear  an  argument  against  your  faith  without 
trembling  at  the  knees, — if  you  feel  yourself 
growing  dizzy  whenever  you  hear  that  another 
famous  professor  has  just  abolished  life  after 
death, — you  may  be  able  to  do  some  things 
worth  while,  but  you  are  in  no  condition  to 
teach  a  class.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  a 
teacher  should  go  to  his  class  feeling  the 
ground  beneath  his  feet  or  he  should  not  go  at 
all.  We  must  get  rid  of  the  things  which  dis- 
turb our  peace.  This  cannot  be  done  by  trying 
to  avoid  them  but  by  bravely  facing  them. 
Take  for  illustration  the  presumptions  of  a  cer- 
tain class  of  scientists  that  have  unsettled  the 
minds  of  so  many  teachers.  One  can  never  get 
rid  of  the  nervousness  caused  by  the  vapourings 
46 


A  Settled  Mind  47 

of  these  men  by  simply  shutting  one's  eyes. 
The  only  way  is  to  face  the  matter  squarely 
and  think  it  through  once  for  all.  If  you  will 
do  this  you  are  not  likely  to  receive  any  serious 
shocks  from  this  source  again  and  you  will 
probably  be  able  to  keep  your  eyes  open  to  all 
the  future  discoveries  of  Science  without  dis- 
comfort. 

I  have  found  that  when  a  teacher  succeeds 
in  getting  the  right  attitude  towards  Science 
he  is  not  easily  unsettled  by  disturbers  of  any 
sort,  and  for  this  reason  I  am  going  to  call 
attention  to  two  or  three  things  which  many 
teachers  have  found  worth  remembering  in 
dealing  with  this  subject. 

Let  me  say  at  the  outset  that  I  have  nothing 
against  Science — no  more  than  I  have  against 
the  sun.  The  sun  deserves  my  admiration  and 
respect,  and  it  receives  both.  But  I  am  not  a 
sun-worshiper,  and  I  do  not  regard  it  with  un- 
reasonable awe.  Nor  have  I  great  respect  for 
any  of  its  imitations.  I  do  not  admire  painted 
suns  or  suns  cut  out  of  yellow  paper.  So 
Science  deserves  my  respect  and  admiration, 
and  it  receives  both.  But  not  being  a  wor- 
shiper of  Science,  I  do  not  fall  down  before  it, 
nor  do  I  stand  in  awe  of  the  monstrous  image 
which  certain  so-called  scientists  have  set  up  in 
the  world  and  labelled  Science,  and  commanded 
all  men,  under  pain  of  scorn,  to  fall  on  their 


48     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

faces  before  it.     There  is  Science  and  science, 
and  there  are  scientists  and  scientists. 

Your  true  scientist  is  the  humblest  of  men. 
He  walks  softly  all  his  days.  He  feels  like  Isaac 
Newton  felt — that  he  is  only  a  little  child  pick- 
ing up  a  few  pebbles  here  and  there  on  the  sea- 
shore of  knowledge.  He  realizes  that  he  knows 
little,  and  therefore  he  speaks  little.  He  makes 
no  loud  claims  for  himself  or  for  Science.  He 
vaunteth  not  himself.  He  is  not  puffed  up. 
He  doth  not  behave  himself  unseemly.  He 
does  not  speak  with  the  assurance  of  those  who 
know  that  they  are  the  people,  and  that  wisdom 
will  die  with  them.  He  excels  in  modesty. 
He  remembers  that  much  of  what  men  thought 
was  true  yesterday  is  no  longer  true  to-day. 
And  he  is  not  certain  but  that  much  which 
seems  true  to-day  will  evaporate  to-morrow. 
He  believes  in  Science,  but  he  does  not  believe 
in  the  infallibility  of  scientists.  He  expects 
great  things  of  Science,  but  he  recognizes  its 
limitations.  He  does  not  believe  that  it  is  the 
fountain  of  all  truth.  He  does  not  expect 
Science  to  shed  light  on  God.  He  rather  looks 
to  God  to  shed  light  on  Science.  IS'or  can  he 
see  the  point  in  the  argument  that  because 
Science  has  not  discovered  God  there  is  no  God. 
He  remembers  that  Science  has  not  yet  dis- 
covered his  mother's  love  or  any  of  the  noble 
sentiments  that  abide  in  his  own  great  heart. 


A  Settled  Mind  40 

Let  this  man  tell  you  what  Science  is,  and  you 
will  see  in  it  nothing  to  doubt  or  scorn ;  as  an 
intelligent  being  you  must  accept  it,  and  as  a 
true  man  you  must  respect  it. 

But  unfortunately  the  world  does  not  get  its 
knowledge  of  Science  from  your  humble  seeker 
after  truth.     During  the  last  fifty  years  the 
field  of  Science  has  been  invaded  by  a  vast 
army  of  young  men  in  search  not  of  truth,  but 
of  fame.     And  men  whose  foremost  ambition  is 
fame  are  never  humble.     And  they  are  never 
quiet.     And  so  it  has  come  to  pass  that  this 
motley  crowd  of  noisy  fame-seekers  has  almost 
drowned  the  quiet  voices  of  true  scientists,  and 
nearly  all  that  many  of  us  have  heard  about 
Science  in  recent  years  has  come  from  fakirs 
or    amateurs.      And   what  a  scene  we  have 
been  having  all  through  this  half  century  of 
pseudo-scientific  exploitation  !    Bent  on  fame, 
old  JSTebuchadnezzar  erected  a  great  image  of 
gold  and  commanded  all  men  at  the  sound  of 
the  cornet,   flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery  and 
dulcimer  to  fall  on  their  faces  and  worship  be- 
fore it.     Bent  on  fame,   our  modern  self-ap- 
pointed priests  of  Science  have  set  up  a  mon- 
strous image  of  their  god  and  have  commanded 
all  men  everywhere  to  fall  down  and  worship 
before  it.     And  the  trick  has  worked  marvel- 
lously.    This  image  is  no  more  like  Science 
than  an  elephant  is  like  a  cow,  but  let  the 


50     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

cornet  sound  and  all  the  world  falls  on  its  face 
before  it.  Great  is  Nebuchadnezzar!  Great 
is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians !  Great  is  Science ! 
People  sit  down  and  talk  about  the  great  and 
terrible  image  in  awed  whispers.  If  a  little 
man  fresh  from  Germany  takes  snuff  in  the 
name  of  Science,  the  whole  world  sneezes. 
If  anybody  anywhere,  with  or  without  testi- 
monials, with  or  without  insignia  of  authority, 
boldly  expresses  an  opinion  in  the  name  of 
Science,  the  whole  world  bows  before  him 
in  silent  submission,  and  the  thing  is  settled. 
Science  says  so,  and  Science  is  infallible,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  our  scientific  books 
must  be  written  over  once  every  ^ve  or  ten 
years  to  set  Science  right  before  the  world. 
The  other  day  a  whole  city  was  stirred  from 
centre  to  circumference  because  a  certain  doctor 
of  Science  decided  on  a  public  platform  that 
there  was  no  evidence  of  immortality  or  of  God. 
Nobody  had  ever  taken  the  learned  doctor 
seriously  on  any  practical  question  of  life.  No- 
body would  accept  his  opinion  about  a  beefsteak 
or  a  flower  garden  or  a  new  coat.  In  all  things 
he  was  a  mere  joke,  but  when  he  rendered  his 
decision  in  the  name  of  Science,  people  fell  on 
their  faces  and  wept,  and  would  not  be  com- 
forted. 

Every  age  has  its  bugaboo.     We  have  had  our 
hobgoblins,  our  ogres,  our  witches,  our  ghosts, 


A  Settled  Mind  51 

our  myriad  superstitions.  To-day  we  have 
this  monster  hnage  which  so-called  scientists 
have  set  up  to  overawe  the  "  common  herd." 
We  use  the  name  of  Science  to  conjure  with  and 
to  cast  spells.  If  people  will  not  do  their 
thinking  to  suit  us,  we  condemn  them  to  per- 
dition in  the  name  of  Science — though  we  in- 
sert by  way  of  parenthesis  that  Science  does 
not  believe  in  perdition.  If  we  do  not  like  to 
see  a  man  going  around  with  simple  faith, 
serving  God  and  his  fellow  men,  and  putting 
our  poor  lives  to  shame,  we  proceed  to  frighten 
him  out  of  his  faith  and  out  of  his  wits  by  call- 
ing over  him  the  name  of  Science.  We  tell 
him  that  Science  knows  nothing  of  God,  and 
nothing  of  religion,  and  that  what  Science 
doesn't  know  doesn't  exist.  We  can  hardly 
sleep  of  nights  for  thinking  of  Science.  I  won- 
der we  have  any  nerves. 

No,  I  have  nothing  against  Science.  Science 
has  never  said  that  there  is  no  God.  Science 
has  never  uttered  a  word  against  our  holy  re- 
ligion. Science  has  never  thrown  any  doubt 
upon  revealed  truth.  It  has  never  denied  the 
existence  of  the  spiritual  world.  The  fact  that 
some  scientists  have  denied  everything  that  is 
precious  to  God's  people  proves  nothing,  except 
that  men  will  sometimes  talk  of  things  they 
know  nothing  about.  Science  is  the  friend  of 
humanity,  and  we  are  overwhelmingly  in  its 


52     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

debt.  But  while  I  have  nothing  against  Sci- 
ence, I  have  somewhat  against  certain  scientists 
whose  heads  have  been  turned  by  their  achieve- 
ments, and  who  boast  great  things.  And  I 
have  more  against  this  vast  army  of  swollen 
fame-seekers  who  have  no  achievements  to 
boast  of,  and  who,  realizing  that  they  cannot 
get  a  hearing  on  their  own  account,  have  set 
up  this  monster  image  and  appointed  them- 
selves its  priests,  in  order  to  secure  the  ear  and 
respect  and  worship  of  mankind.  I  am  sick 
and  tired  of  the  absurd  pretensions  of  mere 
novices  who  presume  to  parade  in  the  garb  of 
Science,  but  who  are  unworthy  to  hold  a  light 
for  a  true  scientist  to  work  by. 

It  is  such  a  simple  trick.  Mrs.  Innocence 
Sublime,  who  is  newly  married,  and  has  just 
found  her  way  to  the  kitchen  for  the  first  time 
in  her  life,  is  informed  with  authority  by  her 
cook  that  all  good  cooks  do  thus  and  so.  The 
cook  does  not  know  what  good  cooks  do,  but 
she  knows  perfectly  well  that  Mrs.  Innocence 
Sublime  does  not  know  either ;  and  so  she  can 
utter  herself  with  safety.  The  Rev.  Jonathan 
Theologue,  just  from  the  factory,  informs  his 
verdant  congregation  that  all  modern  scholar- 
ship worthy  of  the  name  is  in  hearty  accord 
with  his  opinions.  The  Eev.  Jonathan  Theo- 
logue doesn't  know  what  all  modern  scholar- 
ship is  in  accord  with,  but  he  is  perfectly 


A  Settled  Mind  ^3 

certain    that  his  congregation  doesn't  know- 
either,  and,  being  sadly  in  need  of  something 
to  baclc  up  his  statements,  he  chooses  "modern 
scholarship  "  as  an  awe-compelhng  sound.     So 
m  the  iield  of  Science  there  are  bright  young 
seekers  after  fame,  who  have  hardly  learned 
enough  to  be  accounted  apprentices,  but  who 
know  that  they  cannot  get  a  hearing  on  their 
own  account,  and,  having  an  itching  for  world- 
worship,  they  clothe 'themselves  in  the  robes 
of  Science,  and  deepening  their  voices,  go  forth 
to  speak  in  the  name  of  the  monster  image. 
Nobody  but  Mrs.  Innocence  Sublime  takes  the 
cook  seriously.    Nobody  but  the  most  verdant 
of  congregations  takes  the  Eev.  Jonathan  Theo- 
logue  seriously.     Why  should   we  take  Pro- 
fessor Pseudo-Scientist  seriously  ? 


HOW  TO  STUDY  THE  LESSON 

WHERE  one  is  taught  two  must  learn 
— the  teacher  as  well  as  the  pupil. 
A  mere  hearer  of  lessons  does  not 
need  to  know  anything.  One  can  impart  only 
that  which  he  has  learned  himself,  and  if  you 
are  going  to  impart  anything  to  your  pupils  you 
must  study  as  faithfully  as  you  want  your 
pupils  to  study. 

What  is  the  one  thing  needful  in  the  study 
of  the  lesson  ?  On  the  divine  side,  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  on  the  human  side,  a  willing  spirit. 
The  simple  condition  upon  which  the  Book 
opens  its  treasures  is  a  willingness  to  do  what 
we  may  find  commanded  therein.  As  a  rule 
the  Book  shuts  up  like  an  oyster  when  it  is  ap- 
proached by  a  cold  heart,  a  critic,  a  curiosity 
hunter  or  a  croaker. 

The  best  time  to  begin  the  preparation  of 
next  Sunday's  lesson  is  the  first  moment  you 
can  find  after  teaching  this  Sunday's  lesson. 
The  reason  is  that  which  prompts  the  fireman 
to  keep  his  fire  going  through  the  night  rather 
than  start  with  a  cold  boiler  when  the  morning 
comes.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  get  up  steam 
54 


How  to  Study  the  Lesson  55 

when  the  water  is  already  hot  in  the  boiler. 
It  is  easier — far  easier — to  get  interested  in 
next  Sunday's  lesson  while  the  heart  is  yet 
warm  over  the  lesson  you  have  just  taught 
than  it  is  to  take  it  up  after  the  mind  and 
heart  have  had  time  to  grow  cold  again.  So 
you  want  to  use  the  very  first  opportunity  to 
make  your  start  on  the  next  lesson.  You  need 
not  go  very  far,  but  you  want  to  make  a  start. 
You  want  at  least  to  go  far  enough  to  save  the 
trouble  of  working  your  heart  and  mind  up 
from  a  dead  level  later  on  in  the  week. 

First,  find  the  next  lesson  and  mark  it.' 
Then  turn  back  to  the  last  lesson,  read  it  over, 
recall  its  principal  points  and  read  on  up  to  the 
beginning  of  the  next  lesson.  Then  read  the 
next  lesson  rapidly  simply  to  catch  the  general 
drift.  If  now  you  can  read  it  in  the  original, 
that  is  well,  though  the  benefit  to  be  derived 
from  reading  it  in  the  original  is  usually  much 
exaggerated.  The  next  best  thing — and  to  the 
great  majority  of  people  a  much  better  thing — 
is  to  read  all  the  different  versions  you  can  lay 
your  hands  on.  There  are  many  of  these  and 
they  are  all  helpful,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  they  keep  you  on  the  alert  to  note  the 
changes  from  the  authorized  version.  They 
keep  you  wide  awake  and  that  is  the  first  es- 

*  This  method  is  offered  only  for  its  suggestive  value  as 
the  intelligent  student  will  want  to  mark  out  his  own  path. 


56     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

sential  in  Bible  study.  It  is  a  delightful  sensa- 
tion when  one  comes  across  such  renderings  as 
this  which  I  happened  upon  just  now  in  an  old 
Scotch  translation :  "  Abandon  us  not  to 
temptation,  but  preserve  us  from  evil " ;  or 
this  :  *'  Which  of  you  can  by  his  anxiety  pro- 
long his  life  one  hour  ?  "  or  this :  "  Having 
looked  up  he  said,  '  I  see  men  whom  I  distin- 
guish from  trees  only  by  their  walking.'  " 

After  reading  the  text  in  all  the  versions  you 
have  at  hand,  take  up  the  lesson  helps  and 
notice  the  subject  given  to  the  lesson  and  read 
the  Golden  Text.  I  know  most  authorities 
will  tell  you  to  use  helps  very  sparingly,  and 
not  to  use  them  at  all  until  you  have  gotten 
everything  out  of  the  lesson  that  you  can  get 
for  yourself ;  but  I  also  happen  to  know  that 
most  authorities  use  all  the  helps  they  can  get 
hold  of,  and  that  they  are  not  always  careful 
to  wait  until  they  have  exhausted  the  subject 
for  themselves.  You  do  not  want  to  let  other 
people  do  any  more  thinking  for  you  than  you 
can  help,  but  you  will  probably  need  to  use  a 
good  deal  of  their  thinking  nevertheless. 

Now  return  to  the  text,  and  read  it  over  very 
slowly  with  pencil  in  hand,  and  underscore 
every  word  or  phrase  that  is  in  the  least  degree 
obscure.  When  you  have  done  this,  go  back  to 
the  beginning  and  take  up  these  obscure  words 
and  phrases  one  at  a  time  and  see  what  you 


How  to  Study  the  Lesson  57 

can  do  with  them.  Sometimes  nothing  more 
is  needed  than  a  steady  gaze  at  the  obscure 
word  until  the  mind  is  concentrated  wholly 
upon  it ;  frequently,  however,  you  will  need  to 
go  to  your  lesson  helps.  If  you  have  library 
helps,  such  as  a  good  Bible  dictionary  or  ency- 
clopedia, you  will  often  want  to  go  to  them  for 
further  light. 

When  you  have  cleared  up  the  obscure  points 
you  will  be  ready  to  test  your  knowledge  of 
the  text.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  that 
you  should  do  this  at  this  point,  for  you  are 
not  prepared  to  go  further  until  you  are  abso- 
lutely sure  of  your  ground.  There  is  one  sure 
way  of  testing  your  knowledge  of  the  text 
and  fixing  its  meaning  indelibly  in  your  mind, 
and  that  is  by  writing  it  out  in  your  own  lan- 
guage. Close  your  Bible,  and  with  pencil  and 
paper  in  hand  write  down  in  your  own  words 
the  substance  of  the  text  just  as  fully  as  possi- 
ble. If  you  have  never  done  this  you  will  be 
surprised  to  see  how  quickly  it  will  enable  you 
to  master  the  text. 

ISTow  that  you  have  the  facts  of  the  lesson 
clearly  before  you,  the  next  step  is  to  analyze 
the  story  and  learn  its  teachings.  Ask  yourself 
such  questions  as.  What  is  all  this  about  ?  Who 
is  it  of  whom  the  lesson  is  speaking  ?  What  do 
we  know  about  his  life  ?  What  of  his  char- 
acter?   What  particular  incidents  concerning 


58     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

him  are  here  recorded  ?  What  prompted  him 
to  do  as  he  did  ?  Continue  questioning  your- 
self until  you  have  brought  out  in  an  orderly 
way  all  the  facts  of  the  lesson.  ISTow  ask, 
What  does  all  this  teach  ?  What  is  it  to  me  ? 
How  can  I  apply  it  to  my  own  heart  and  my 
life  ?  What  good  can  I  get  out  of  it  ?  What 
suggestions  do  I  find  that  may  be  helpful  in  my 
own  daily  walk  ?  What  is  the  one  thing  of  the 
lesson  that  is  preeminent  ?  What  is  the  very 
kernel  of  the  lesson — the  very  heart  of  the  les- 
son ?  Do  not  ask,  How  am  I  to  teach  this  ?  or, 
What  can  I  get  out  of  this  for  my  pupils? 
The  time  for  this  is  not  yet.  You  are  now 
studying  the  lesson  not  as  a  teacher,  but  as  a 
pupil.  Thus  far  you  should  have  forgotten  that 
you  are  a  teacher.  You  should  study  the  les- 
son for  your  own  soul's  sake.  When  you  have 
done  this  you  will  be  ready  to  study  the  lesson 
for  the  sake  of  your  pupils. 

Here  are  three  points  worth  remember- 
ing: 

1.  My  old  teacher  of  mathematics  used  to 
say  to  us  at  the  beginning  of  a  written  examina- 
tion, "  Young  gentlemen,  work  out  all  the 
problems  you  can,  first,  and  then  work  out  the 
problems  you  can't."  It  is  a  good  rule  to  ob- 
serve in  studying  one's  lesson.  Don't  dwell  too 
long  on  an  obscure  passage  ;  mark  it  and  when 
you  have  studied  its  easier  surroundings  you 


How  to  Study  the  Lesson  59 

may  come  back  to  it  better  prepared  to  get  at 
the  kernel  of  the  matter. 

2.  You  are  not  prepared  to  teach  the  lesson 
until  you  are  able  to  reproduce  the  lesson  text 
in  your  own  language.  Test  your  preparation  : 
can  you  rewrite  the  text  in  the  terms  of  every- 
day life  ? 

3.  When  a  thought  in  the  lesson  is  confused 
or  obscure  sit  down  and  try  to  write  it  out. 
It  is  wonderful  how  the  act  of  writing  clears 
up  obscurity  and  brings  order  out  of  chaos. 


XI 
HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  LESSON 

W  HEIST  the  teacher  has  studied  the  les- 
son for  his  own  profit — when  he  has 
eaten  of  its  bread  and  drunk  of  its 
water,  and  put  forth  his  hand  and  taken  of  its 
honey;  when  his  own  eyes  have  been  en- 
lightened— he  is  ready  to  prepare  the  lesson  for 
his  class,  and  not  until  then. 

This  special  preparation  is  a  serious  task  and 
it  calls  for  an  uninterrupted  hour,  an  hour  that 
should  be  as  full  of  hallowing  quiet  as  a  Sab- 
bath eventide.  I  am  fond  of  saying  that  Satur- 
day night,  that  border-land  between  the  week 
of  cares  and  the  Sabbath  of  calm  which  our 
fathers  set  apart  as  the  outer  court  of  the 
sanctuary,  but  which  we  in  our  greed  have 
plowed  over  and  sown  down  in  left-overs,  is 
the  teacher's  golden  opportunity.  Certainly 
no  other  hour  can  be  so  easily  fitted  up  and 
kept  sacred  for  this  special  task.  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  this  quiet  hour  has  come  and  that  you 
have  found  a  quiet  place  where  you  can  spend 
it  without  interruption.  You  have  opened  your 
Bible  at  the  lesson  which  has  now  come  to  be  a 
living,  burning  truth.  Look  at  this  lesson  for  a 
60 


How  to  Plan  the  Lesson  61 

moment  and  then  look  away  and  try  to  realize 
the  presence  of  your  pupils.     Look  at  your 
pupils.     It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  attempt 
any  preparation  at  all  if  you  do  not  vividly 
realize  your  class  on  the  one  hand  and  your 
lesson  on  the  other.     Put  them  side  by  side  and 
look  at  them.     Look  at  the  lesson.     What  are 
its  practical  teachings  ?    What  is  its  great  cen- 
tral truth— the  truth  you  want  to  burn  into  the 
hearts  of  your  pupils  ?    Write  it  down  on  paper 
and  look  at  it.     What  are  some  of  its  practical 
teachings?     Write  them  down  and  look  at 
them,    l^ow  look  at  your  class.     That  is  to 
say,  look  at  Charles  and  Sarah  and  Henry  and 
Alice— not    your   class    in    the    abstract    but 
each  pupil  in  the  concrete.     I  have  frequently 
said  that   the   teacher  who  habitually  thinks 
of  his  class  as  a  whole  rather  than  its  individ- 
ual members  is  as  badly  out  of  place  as  the 
parent  who  never  prays  for  his  children  except 
in  a  lump.     Look  at  these  pupils  with  the  prac- 
tical teachings  of  the  lesson  in  mind.     What 
are  the  special  needs  of  each  pupil  ?    Don't  be 
in  a  hurry ;   take  time  to  think  this  matter 
through  to  some  purpose.     When  you  have  done 
this  recall  again  the  practical  teachings  of  the 
lesson,  and  with  the  needs  of  your  pupils  in 
view  try  to  decide  what  truths  shall  be  pressed 
home  in  the  class.     Then  decide  what  truth 
shall  be  placed  foremost,  emphasizing  it  above 


62     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

all  others.  The  others  may  be  placed  in  the 
background,  only  one  should  be  placed  in  the 
foreground.  When  the  lesson  is  ended  there 
should  be  burning  in  the  hearts  of  the  children 
one  great  truth — burning  as  clearly  and  as 
sharply  defined  as  the  flame  of  a  lamp. 

The  next  thing  is  to  take  up  the  lesson  story 
and  settle  upon  your  plan  of  unfolding  it. 
There  are  half  a  dozen  points  which  you  will 
need  to  decide  with  care. 

First,  you  want  to  ask  what  you  shall  say  to 
secure  attention.  Not  what  you  shall  say  to 
force  attention  but  what  you  shall  say  to  win 
attention.  Perhaps  an  incident  will  come  into 
your  mind  which  you  are  confident  will  get  the 
attention  of  your  pupils.  But  are  you  sure  that 
the  telling  of  this  incident  will  help  you  to  get 
your  hand  on  the  pupils'  minds?  Will  it 
draw  your  pupils  around  you  ready  to  follow 
wherever  you  may  lead,  or  will  it  only  start 
their  minds  off  on  an  excursion  through  endless 
fields  of  fancy  where  there  are  daisies  and  but- 
terflies enough  to  last  through  the  lesson  hour  ? 
Children  are  very  much  like  ponies  ;  it  is  one 
thing  to  catch  the  ear  of  a  capering  pony  and 
cause  him  to  stop  suddenly  and  gaze  at  you,  but 
it  is  quite  another  thing  to  induce  him  to  stand 
and  allow  you  to  go  to  him  and  place  a  bit  in 
his  mouth. 

Second,  you  want  to  decide  how  to  make  the 


How  to  Plan  the  Lesson  63 

connecting  link  between  this  lesson  and  the  last. 
Omitting  the  connecting  link  is  the  besetting  sin 
of  the  average  teacher.  Children  do  not  re- 
member disconnected  lessons  any  better  than 
the  rest  of  us.  A  chain  always  helps  the  mem- 
ory. 

Third,  what  questions  shall  be  asked  on  the 
lesson  itself?  Write  them  down.  Don't  for- 
get that  the  act  of  writing  not  only  clarifies  the 
mind,  but  it  photographs  the  question  in  your 
mind  so  that  it  will  come  up  readily  at  the 
moment  you  want  it.  Questions  in  the  lesson 
helps  are  not  designed  to  save  you  the  trouble 
of  making  questions  of  your  own,  but  rather  to 
help  you  in  making  such  questions. 

Fourth,  decide  what  points  should  be  illustra- 
ted and  select  your  illustrations.  Do  not  select 
an  illustration  from  any  printed  thing  until 
you  have  searched  your  memory  through  and 
through  for  an  illustration  that  has  come  into 
your  own  every-day  life.  Home-made  illus- 
trations are  best,  be  they  ever  so  homely.  In 
teaching  young  children  use  incidents,  not  fig- 
ures of  speech.  Figurative  language  which 
shines  for  mature  minds  only  casts  a  shadow 
for  little  children  to  stumble  in. 

Fifth,  are  there  any  simple  objects  which  may 
be  used  to  illustrate  the  lesson  ?  Take  care  that 
you  select  objects  that  will  illustrate,  and  that 
will  not  divert.    A  pair  of  scissors  will  illustrate, 


64     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

but  a  mellow  red  apple,  full  of  teaching  as  it 
may  be  to  mature  minds,  will  only  make  a 
child's  mouth  water. 

Sixth,  decide  how  the  lesson  shall  be  brought 
to  a  close.  There  are  teachers  who  carefully 
plan  the  first  part  of  the  lesson  and  leave  the 
latter  part  to  providence,  or  to  the  inspiration 
of  the  moment,  which  they  usually  assume  to 
be  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  A  good 
end  may  make  amends  for  a  bad  beginning, 
but  a  good  beginning  never  counterbalances  a 
bad  end. 

The  lesson  plan  is  now  ready.  But  are  you 
ready  ?  No :  not  until  you  have  brought  your- 
self face  to  face  with  your  own  soul.  ISTot 
until  you  have  examined  your  commission  and 
gazed  long  upon  the  model  after  which  you 
are  trying  to  mold  the  lump  of  clay  heaven  has 
put  into  your  hands.  Not  until  you  have  pre- 
sented your  pupils,  one  by  one,  at  the  throne 
of  grace,  and  poured  out  your  own  soul  unto 
God. 


XII 

THE  TEACHER'S  PEESONAL  PEEP- 
AEATION 

PREPARING  to  teach  a  lesson  is  like 
winding  np  a  toy  :  the  moment  you  let  it 
go  the  thing  begins  to  run  down.  Pre- 
paring is  one  problem  j  staying  prepared  is 
another.  I  have  been  ready  to  teach  a  lesson 
at  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday  night,  and  I  have 
found  myself  utterly  unprepared  to  teach  it  at 
ten  o  'clock  the  next  morning.  This  leads  me 
to  speak  of  some  little  things  which  are  usually 
overlooked  because  they  are  small,  but  which 
usually  prove  to  be  the  little  foxes  that  spoil  the 
vines. 

Many  a  good  lesson  is  spoiled  by  a  bad 
digestion.  To  illustrate,  here  is  my  friend 
Jones.  Jones  is  as  bright  a  fellow  as  one  will 
meet  between  Sundays.  He  knows  how  to 
study  his  lesson,  and  he  studies  it.  And  he 
knows  how  to  plan  it  for  his  class.  When  Sun- 
day comes  everything  is  ready.  All  the  facts 
are  at  hand.  The  teaching  points  are  drawn 
up  in  battle  array.  The  illustrations  are  com- 
ing up  in  the  rear.  Everything  is  in  shape. 
Everything  except  Jones  himself.  Jones  has 
65 


66     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

a  weakness  for  good  suppers.  He  has  a  special 
weakness  for  good  suppers  that  are  late.  And 
on  Saturday  nights,  when  the  work  of  the 
week  is  over  and  everything  is  ready  for  Sun- 
day, he  likes  to  indulge  a  bit.  Last  night  he 
ate  too  much,  and  this  morning  he  woke  up 
with  that  dark  brown  taste.  You  know  the 
taste.  And  you  know  how  brown  it  gets  to 
be.  When  a  man  starts  down-town  to  his  office 
on  Monday  with  that  taste  he  knows  what  it 
means.  His  brain  is  dull,  his  heart  is  cold,  his 
knees  are  shaky,  and  he  carries  a  cotton  string 
where  his  backbone  used  to  be.  He  can't  think, 
he  can't  plan,  he  can't  give  orders,  he  can't  face 
his  creditors,  he  can't  make  good  in  anything. 
The  day  is  an  utter  loss — unless  he  can  get 
something  to  overcome  that  dark  brown  taste. 
And  a  wise  business  man  is  not  going  down- 
town with  that  taste  in  his  mouth  if  he  can  help 
it.  But  Jones,  who  knows  all  this  as  well  as 
you  or  I,  somehow  imagines  that  when  it  comes 
to  "  religious  "  work  it  is  different.  He  has  pre- 
pared his  lesson  faithfully,  and  he  is  going  to 
Sunday-school  to  attend  to  the  Lord's  business, 
and  he  does  not  see  why  he  cannot  look  to  the 
Lord  to  help  him  through  without  regard  to 
such  trifling  hindrances  as  a  late  supper  may 
have  put  in  his  way.  But  the  Lord  does  not 
undertake  to  master  the  man  who  is  willingly 
mastered  by  his  own  stomach,  and  poor  Jones 


The  Teacher's  Personal  Preparation     67 

goes  down  in  ignoble  defeat.  When  a  teacher's 
stomach  IS  against  him,  everything  is  against 
him  His  facts  will  not  muster.  His  teaching 
truths  refuse  to  come  forward  at  his  command 
His  illustrations  loiter  indifferently  in  the  rear 
And  his  scholars-if  you  had  followed  the  boys 
after  the  lesson  was  over  you  would  have  heard 
Jim  saying  to  Bob :  "I  don't  see  what  they  can 
expect  of  a  fellow  with  that  old  stupid  ox  for  a 
teacher." 

But  poor  Jones  is  not  alone.    At  the  very 
moment  that  he  was  struggling  to  make  the 
lesson  move,  if  you  had  looked  over  towards 
the  northeast  corner  you  would  have  seen  Miss 
Sapphira  Smith  stretching  her  beautiful  little 
mouth  into  a  most  unbeautiful  yawning  chasm 
And  if  you  had  looked  towards  the  south  you 
would  have  seen  three  other  teachers  of  assorted 
sizes  and  sexes  likewise  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  yawns.    And  just  back  of  them  one 
teacher  was  looking  at  his  watch,  and  another 
—a  great  big  benevolent-looking  hulk— had  his 
chair  tilted  back,  and  his  eyes  closed,  and  was 
drumming  with  his  fingers  on  his  song-book. 

Dullness  is  produced  by  emptiness.  It  is  the 
only  thing  that  emptiness  produces.  Empti- 
ness of  the  head  is  caused  either  by  putting 
nothing  in  the  head  or  by  putting  too  much  in 
the  stomach.  Some  of  us  suffer  from  one  cause 
some  from  the  other.    Some,  alas  !  from  both' 


68     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

What  we  need  is  all-round  preparation  for  the 
class.  One  teacher  prepares  his  head  and  neg- 
lects his  heart.  Another  prepares  his  heart  and 
neglects  his  head.  The  wise  teacher  prepares 
both  heart  and  head  and  does  not  neglect  his 
stomach. 

When  you  lay  down  the  lesson  Saturday 
night  remember  that  He  who  giveth  His  be- 
loved sleep  is  also  ready  to  keep  your  mind  in 
perfect  peace  when  you  are  awake.  Look  to 
Him  for  a  composed  mind  when  you  awake  on 
the  morrow.  I  take  it  for  granted,  of  course, 
that  you  will  not  make  such  a  prayer  if  you 
have  already  done  those  things  during  the  day 
which  in  the  natural  course  of  events  will  blos- 
som into  a  dull  headache  and  depressed  spirits 
to-morrow. 

When  you  wake  in  the  morning  direct  your 
first  thoughts  straight  to  the  throne  of  God. 
Don't  aim  an  inch  lower.  Whatever  you  do 
through  the  day  be  sure  that  you  steel  your 
mind  at  the  beginning  against  those  things 
which  fret  and  distract.  Don't  have  any  un- 
settled problems  about  dress  to  solve.  Attend 
to  such  matters  on  Saturday.  That  is  what  the 
latter  half  of  Saturday  is  for.  You  may  noi-^ 
think  it  a  serious  matter  but  if  you  allow  any- 
thing to  distract  you  at  the  beginning  of  the 
day  you  are  not  going  to  be  ready  to  teach 
that  lesson  when  the  time  comes.     Take  hold 


The  Teacher's  Personal  Preparation     69 

of  yourself  and  refuse  to  allow  yourself  to 
hurry.  Keep  yourself  composed  the  first  hour 
of  the  day  and  you  will  be  thrice  armed  against 
the  distractions  of  the  remainder  of  the  day. 

Get  into  communication  with  God  with  your 
first  waking  thoughts  and  then  while  you  are 
preparing  your  toilet  get  en  rapport  with  the 
day.     Take  a  peep  through  the  blinds,  and  if 
the  sun  shines  open  your  heart  to  its  gladness. 
If  it  does  not  shine  that  is  the  moment  to  steel 
your  heart  against  the  depression  of  a  gloomy 
day.     Don't  let  the  weather  master  you ;  master 
the  weather.     Watch  against  everything  of  a 
disturbing  character.     Watch  against  the  sur- 
prises that  bring  the  nerves  to  the  surface. 
Resolve  to  see  and  hear  the  things  which  make 
for  peace.     At  the  breakfast  table  look  into  the 
sunny  faces  and  look  beyond  the  morose  one.    If 
there  is  a  single  bit  of  toast  that  isn't  burnt  don't 
know  that  there  is  anything  the  matter  with 
the  rest.     Be  an  optimist— at  least  on  Sunday 
morning  at  the  breakfast  table.     Keep  sweet. 
Keep  happy.     Eemember  you   have  prepared 
your  lesson  and  you  have  a  great  opportunity 
before  you,  and  it  would  be  a  pity  to  allow 
anything  to  spoil  it.     At  the  same  time  don't 
allow  yourself  to  be  weighed  down  with  a  sense 
of  the  responsibility  before  you.     Don't  think 
of  your  teaching  as  a  responsibility  but  as  an 
opportunity.    When  you  put  on  your  hat  and 


70     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

start  to  Sunday-school,  start  as  one  going  forth 
to  seize  an  opportunity,  not  as  one  going  to  take 
up  a  burden.  But  don^t  be  impatient  to  seize 
it.  Don't  allow  yourself  to  hurry.  Many  a 
teacher  is  nervous  and  useless  throughout  the 
Sunday-school  hour  simply  because  the  nerves 
all  came  to  the  surface  while  on  a  run  to  get  to 
Sunday-school  on  time.  Promptness  is  a  cardi- 
nal virtue  in  a  teacher,  but  nervousness  is  a 
cardinal  sin.  Better  be  late  than  be  nervous. 
Better  not  come  at  all  than  be  nervous. 

Now  you  have  your  nerves  en  rwpport  with 
the  day  and  with  your  opportunity.  The  next 
thing  is  to  get  en  rapport  with  your  class — 
rather,  with  each  member  of  your  class.  Re- 
member, the  first  impressions  are  the  lasting 
ones.  Johnny  was  all  out  of  sorts  last  Sunday 
because  when  you  came  in  you  glanced  at  him 
and  spoke  in  an  absent-minded  sort  of  way. 
You  cannot  afford  to  speak  to  any  of  your 
pupils  in  an  absent-minded  sort  of  way.  The 
moment  a  pupil  sees  you  are  not  thinking  of 
him  that  moment  he  ceases  to  care  for  you. 
He  expects  the  teacher  to  think  of  him  what- 
ever else  and  whoever  else  he  may  have  to  think 
of.  He  expects  the  teacher  to  see  him  if  it  re- 
quires a  dozen  eyes  to  see  him.  He  expects  a 
warm,  friendly  hand- shake  with  all  five  fingers, 
and  not  two  icy  tips,  though  it  may  take  a  dozen 
hands  to  do  it.     But  right  here  take  care.     If  a 


The  Teacher's  Personal  Preparation     71 

boy  is  four  or  five  years  old  or  under  you  may 
pet  him  as  you  will,  but  if  he  is  beyond  five 
try  to  think  of  him,  not  as  a  baby,  but  as 
a  little  man.  Treat  him  respectfully.  Don't 
"O  dear"  him.  Don't  put  the  emphasis  on 
"  little."  If  he  is  more  than  eight  years  of  age 
don't  pat  him  on  the  head — for  your  life,  don't. 
If  he  is  more  than  ten  years  of  age  don't  put 
your  arm  around  him.  You  may  put  your 
hand  on  his  shoulder  provided  you  don't  do 
it  patronizingly.  Kemember,  he  feels  himself 
a  man — every  inch  a  man — and  it  is  not  your 
business  to  undeceive  him.  If  you  have  a  class 
of  girls  it  will  not  make  a  great  deal  of  differ- 
ence. Girls  will  take  a  great  deal  of  petting — 
most  of  them.  Even  the  biggest  girls  do  not 
mind  sometimes  being  called  little.  But  it  is  a 
matter  of  the  most  vital  importance  that  you 
do  not  rub  a  boy  the  wrong  way  by  petting 
him  when  he  has  reached  the  age  when  he  no 
longer  regards  himself  as  a  little  boy. 

Now  that  you  have  settled  yourself  among 
your  pupils  and  have  made  yourself  in  a  measure 
one  of  them — though  I  do  not  say  that  a  teacher 
should  make  himself  a  child  in  the  class  because 
he  is  with  children — ^you  want  to  turn  your 
heart  upward  for  a  moment  and  get  a  new  hold 
on  the  Throne.  Are  you  ready  ?  Last  night 
you  decided  upon  a  little  incident  that  you 
would  tell  to  win  the  interest  of  the  pupils  and 


72     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

open  the  way  to  the  lesson.  Kun  over  it  a 
moment  in  your  mind  to  be  sure  you  recall  it 
distinctly.  When  you  have  it  clearly  before 
you  tell  it.  It  is  important  not  to  stumble  at 
the  beginning.  And  it  is  important  that  while 
these  first  words  are  being  spoken  you  should 
look  straight  into  the  eyes  of  each  pupil.  If 
you  want  to  talk  over  a  'phone  you  first  get  the 
connection.  This  is  what  you  must  try  to  do 
in  these  opening  words — connect  your  mind 
and  soul  with  the  mind  and  soul  of  each  pupil. 


XIII 
GETTING  THE  POI^ifT  OF  CONTACT 

THE  difference  between  a  trained  teacher 
and  a  novice  is  never  more  apparent 
than  in  the  first  five  minutes  of  the 
lesson  hour.  The  novice  looks  first  at  the 
lesson.  The  trained  teacher  looks  first  at  the 
pupils.  The  novice  thinks  of  the  lesson  as  a 
little  pile  of  chunks — chunks  of  knowledge — 
which  he  is  commissioned  to  throw  into  the 
minds  of  his  pupils.  And  he  proceeds  to  throw 
them.  Whether  the  minds  of  his  pupils  are 
open  to  his  chunks  or  not  does  not  give  him  any 
concern.  He  feels  that  it  is  his  business  to 
throw  them  and  he  trusts  to  the  Lord  for  the 
rest.  The  trained  teacher  knows  that  his  lesson 
is  not  a  pile  of  chunks  but  a  single  link  in  the 
chain  of  knowledge ;  and  he  first  looks  into  the 
minds  of  his  pupils  to  see  if  he  can  find  another 
link  to  which  it  can  be  attached.  He  knows 
that  a  pupil  cannot  be  taught  by  throwing 
knowledge  into  his  mind  in  chunks.  Knowl- 
edge grows  as  a  chain  grows — a  link  at  a  time  ; 
and  the  last  link  must  be  linked  with  the  pre- 
ceding link.  And  so,  as  I  have  said,  the  trained 
teacher  first  looks  into  the  minds  of  his  pupils 
73 


74     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

to  find  something  to  which  he  can  attach  the 
link  of  knowledge  which  the  lesson  contains. 
To  do  this  he  must  bring  his  mind  to  a  level 
with  the  minds  of  his  pupils.  It  is  what  Du 
Bois  calls  getting  the  point  of  contact/  You 
cannot  stand  off  at  a  distance  and  throw  knowl- 
edge at  a  pupil.  You  must  come  close  to  him 
and  take  hold  of  a  link  that  is  in  his  mind  and 
proceed  to  link  into  it  the  new  link  of  knowl- 
edge which  you  wish  him  to  possess. 

Should  the  teacher  begin  by  talking  about 
what  is  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  pupils  ? 
ISTo  ;  not  always.  I  am  aware  that  some  of  our 
authorities  tell  us  that  if  the  boys  are  thinking 
about  baseball  the  teacher  should  talk  ball,  and 
if  the  girls  are  thinking  about  new  hats  he  should 
talk  hats.  But  it  is  one  thing  to  interest  your 
pupils  and  it  is  another  thing  to  hold  them  after 
they  are  interested.  The  theory  is  that  one 
should  talk  ball  and  hats  until  the  pupils  are 
interested  and  then  deftly  lead  them  from 
ball  or  hats  to  the  lesson.  But  can  you  deftly 
lead  them?  That  is  the  question.  Having 
persuaded  your  balking  pony  to  start  off  in  a 
run  will  you  be  able  to  hold  him  in  the  road 
and  make  him  go  where  you  want  him  to  go  ? 
It  is  easy  enough  to  start  a  boy's  mind  off  on 
the  subject  of  ball,  but  are  you  strong  enough 

*  "The  Point  of  Contact  in  Teaching,"  by  Patterson  Du 
Bois, 


Getting  the  Point  of  Contact         75 

to  turn  his  mind  from  ball  to  something  else  ? 
Is  the  average  teacher  who  starts  his  pupils' 
minds  off  on  the  subject  of  hats  just  before 
Easter  able  to  turn  their  minds  away  from  hats 
long  enough  to  get  the  lesson  into  their  heads  ? 
I  am  afraid  not.  A  skillful  teacher  may  use 
almost  anything  to  awaken  interest  but  the  un- 
skillful must  be  careful.  When  you  want  your 
boy  to  go  up-town  on  an  errand  do  you  start 
him  by  sending  him  to  the  pantry  where  the 
goodies  are  ? 

But  while  it  is  not  always  safe  to  begin  with 
what  is  in  the  pupil's  mind  it  is  necessary  to 
begin  with  something  that  he  already  knows, 
something  in  which  he  is  interested.  If  you 
have  a  well  trained  class,  getting  your  point  of 
contact  will  not  be  a  difficult  matter.  As  a 
rule  you  will  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  have 
your  pupils  recall  the  most  interesting  facts 
about  the  last  lesson.  When  you  have  done 
this  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  for  you  to  lead 
them  up  to  the  present  lesson  by  simply  naming 
the  principal  intervening  events.  But  I  shall 
assume  that  you  have  not  a  well-trained  class, 
and  that  your  pupils  have  little  or  no  recollec- 
tion of  the  lessons  that  have  gone  before.  With 
such  a  class  it  will  not  be  sufficient  to  recall  last 
Sunday's  lesson  because  you  will  not  reach  the 
level  of  their  minds.  Kemember  the  funda- 
mental rule  in  all  teaching,  that  you  must  begin 


76     Secrets  of  Sunday- School  Teaching 

with  that  which  is  known  and  then  proceed  to 
that  which  is  unknown,  connecting  the  unknown 
with  the  known.  If  your  children  know  noth- 
ing about  the  last  lesson  you  must  find  some- 
thing else  that  they  know  to  which  you  can 
attach  the  lesson  of  the  hour.  Suppose  the 
lesson  is  about  one  of  Christ's  miracles.  What 
is  the  character  of  the  miracle?  Have  your 
pupils  ever  learned  anything  about  a  miracle  of 
like  character  ?  Kecall  that  miracle.  If  you 
find  that  they  have  a  particle  of  interest  in  it, 
you  can  begin  with  that  and  lead  them  on  up  to 
the  present  miracle  by  telling  them  that  here 
we  have  another  story  like  the  one  that  in- 
terested them  before.  Suppose  you  have  for 
your  lesson  the  miracle  of  the  wedding  in  Cana, 
and  your  children  know  nothing  of  the  miracles 
of  Jesus  at  all.  In  this  case  it  is  useless  to 
begin  with  miracles.  But  you  can  begin  with 
weddings,  for  there  is  not  a  child  in  your  class 
who  has  never  heard  of  a  wedding.  But  here 
is  a  great  danger.  You  can  begin  by  talking 
about  weddings  in  such  a  way  as  to  lead  the 
minds  of  your  pupils  off  on  an  endless  excursion 
through  fields  of  fancy,  and  they  will  spend  the 
rest  of  the  lesson  hour  thinking  of  weddings 
that  have  been  or  of  weddings  that  are  to  be. 
You  want  to  interest  them  just  enough  to  secure 
their  attention,  and  then  you  want  to  lead  their 
minds  away  from  modern  weddings  back  to 


Getting  the  Point  of  Contact         77 

ancient  Oriental  weddings  where  they  will  not 
be  tempted  to  wander  off  out  of  your  reach. 
Describe  an  Oriental  wedding  and  then  when 
you  have  made  it  real  to  them  bring  Jesus  to 
the  wedding  feast.  Then  their  minds  will  be 
prepared  for  the  story  of  the  miracle  at  the 
wedding  in  Cana. 

I  know  of  nothing  in  the  teacher's  work  that 
calls  for  so  much  skill  as  this  matter  of  getting 
one's  point  of  contact.  It  is  easy  enough  to  be- 
gin on  a  level  with  the  pupil's  knowledge,  but 
you  need  to  take  care  not  to  call  anything  to 
their  minds  that  will  absorb  their  attention  so 
that  they  will  lose  sight  of  you.  And  you 
need  to  be  careful  not  to  begin  with  trifles. 
You  cannot  get  your  point  of  contact  to  any 
good  purpose  by  talking  to  your  pupils  about 
the  latest  fashions,  or  about  a  forthcoming  en- 
tertainment. You  cannot  link  the  lesson  to 
things  of  this  sort.  Of  course  if  you  have  a 
class  of  pick-ups,  hoodlums,  nondescripts  fished 
out  of  sundry  alleys,  you  may  find  it  necessary 
to  talk  to  them  about  almost  anything  that  will 
secure  their  attention ;  but  the  moment  you  see 
any  sign  of  interest  you  must  lead  them  to 
something  else  of  interest  that  will  serve  as  a 
natural  step  towards  the  lesson  itself. 


XIV 
HOW  TO  TEACH  THE  LESSON 

WHEN  you  have  succeeded  in  getting 
your  point  of  contact — when  you 
find  that  what  you  are  saying  is  on 
a  level  with  your  pupils'  minds  and  is  arousing 
their  interest — you  are  ready  to  lead  them  into 
the  lesson  itself.  The  important  thing  at  this 
point  is  to  lead  them  without  delay.  If  you 
give  them  a  single  moment  the  minds  which 
you  have  aroused  will  start  on  excursions  of 
their  own  choosing,  and  you  will  have  a  hard 
time  coaxing  them  back  and  getting  them  to 
take  the  road  through  the  lesson  which  you 
have  selected  for  them.  Did  you  ever  see  an 
old  man  tr3ring  to  catch  a  frisky  colt  on  a  frosty 
morning  ?  That's  the  picture  of  many  a  slug- 
gish teacher  in  his  efforts  to  catch  the  minds  of 
his  pupils  after  he  has  allowed  them  to  wander 
away. 

You  have  now  recalled  the  last  lesson  and 
have  mentioned  the  intervening  events.  "  This 
brings  us  " — I  should  say  here — "  to  our  lesson 
for  to-day.  And  an  exceedingly  interesting 
lesson  it  is."  Here  I  would  open  my  Bible. 
"  Let  us  turn  to  it.  It  is  in  the — what  chap- 
78 


How  to  Teach  the  Lesson  79 

ter  ?  "    If  no  one  knows  just  where  it  is  don't 
waste  any  time  over  it.     Call  out  the  book  and 
chapter  yourself  and  ask  Charlie  to  read  the 
first  verse.    Are  there  any  obscure  words  that 
need  to  be  cleared  up  ?    Bring  out  the  mean- 
ing in  the  fewest  possible  words  and  then  ask 
the  least  attentive  pupil  in  the  class  to  read  the 
second  verse.     The  whole  class  might  read  the 
third,  another  inattentive  boy  the  fourth,  and  so 
on.     Keep  your  eyes  open  for  inattentive  pupils 
and  give  them  something  to  do.     I  would  vary 
the  order  of  calling  for  the  verses,  and  I  would 
never  let  the  pupils  know  the  order.     If  Charlie 
knows  that  Kobert  will  read  the  next  verse  he 
will  not  even  look  at  it.     Keejp  all  the  class  on 
duty  all  the  time.     You  cannot  do  this  if  you 
read  the  lesson  yourself.     The  moment  you  be- 
gin every  pupil  will  feel  that  he  is  off  duty  and 
nearly  every  one  of  them  will  slip  away  from 
you  in  spirit,  though  not  in  body,  before  you 
get  through,  unless  the  lesson  happens  to  be  a 
narrative  of  unusual  interest. 

When  the  reading  is  ended  I  would  say  some- 
thing like,  "JSTow  let  us  see  what  we  have 
here ; "  and  without  talking  about  it  I  would 
begin  a  rapid  fire  of  questions  designed  to  draw 
out  from  the  pupils  the  principal  facts  of  the 
lesson.  I  would  not  point  out  these  facts ;  I 
would  draw  them  out.  Do  not  tell  a  pupil 
anything  that  you  can  get  him  to  tell  you. 


8o     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

You  are  not  to  throw  facts  at  him  with  the 
hope  that  they  will  somehow  find  lodgment  in 
his  mind  :  you  are  to  lead  him  up  to  the  facts  so 
that  he  can  discover  them  for  himself.  And 
you  should  do  this  by  questions.  The  younger 
a  child  the  more  important  it  is  to  put  every- 
thing you  can  in  the  form  of  a  question.  You 
may  lecture  to  grown  people  because  they  can 
concentrate  their  minds  upon  what  you  are  say- 
ing. In  other  words,  they  can  hold  on  to  their 
own  minds.  A  child  does  not  have  this  power 
of  concentration  and  you  must  get  hold  of  his 
mind  and  hold  it  for  him.  The  question  is  the 
hook  with  which  you  get  hold  of  his  mind  and 
keep  it  from  running  away. 

At  first  you  may  have  difficulty  in  getting 
the  children  to  answer  at  all.  You  will  always 
find  it  hard  to  draw  them  out  if  you  have  been 
doing  all  the  talking  for  some  time.  Have  you 
not  noticed  how  hard  it  is  to  say  anything  after 
somebody  else  has  been  monopolizing  the  con- 
versation? From  sheer  stupidity,  you  say. 
Certainly ;  and  you  don't  want  to  make  your 
pupils  stupid.  Asking  questions  that  are  too 
hard  has  quite  as  bad  an  effect  as  too  much 
talking.  It  forces  the  pupils  to  be  silent,  and 
if  you  keep  them  silent  long  they  will  not  even 
feel  like  answering  the  easy  questions  which 
may  come  by  and  by.  Ask  your  easy  ques- 
tions at  the  beginning.    Indeed  it  is  a  good 


How  to  Teach  the  Lesson  81 

plan  sometimes  to  ask  half  a  dozen  questions 
which  can  be  answered  without  any  effort,  just 
to  get  the  pupils  in  the  habit  of  answering. 
"When  the  answers  come  back  briskly  make 
your  questions  a  little  harder.  If  the  class 
grows  dull  make  your  questions  easy  again. 

There  are  a  great  many  points  about  the  art 
of  questioning  which  you  will  need  to  think 
over  later.  Just  now  it  will  be  sufficient  to  at- 
tend to  the  few  simple  suggestions  I  have  given 
and  to  watch  carefully  your  manner  in  asking 
questions.  Try  to  recall  how  you  did  it  last 
Sunday.  Did  you  throw  your  questions  at 
your  pupils  in  a  careless,  haphazard  sort  of 
way?  Did  you  fire  them  at  them  out  of  a 
popgun  ?  Did  the  tone  of  your  voice  say  that 
you  didn't  believe  they  could  answer,  or  you 
didn't  care  whether  they  did  or  not,  or  you 
were  going  to  force  them  to  answer  whether  or 
no?  Did  your  questions  demcmd  answers  or 
invite  them  ?  Did  you  imagine  that  you  were 
a  lawyer  and  that  your  pupils  were  on  the 
witness  stand?  Did  you  act  as  some  unwise 
parents  I  know  who  always  question  their 
children  as  if  they  were  trying  to  catch  them 
in  something?  Did  you  question  them  with 
all  the  ardour  and  tenderness  of  a  lover  trying 
to  secure  an  answer  to  the  one  question  ? 


XV 
HOW  TO  ASK  QUESTIONS 

0UESTI0:N^ING  is  an  art— one  of  the 
fine  arts,  if  you  will.  Anybody  can 
ask  questions — anybody  can  ask  a 
great  many  questions ;  but  to  ask  questions 
that  will  open  up  the  pupil's  mind  to  the  light 
and  reveal  to  you  what  he  knows,  and  then 
lead  him  on  to  the  goal  which  you  desire  he 
shall  reach — this  is  the  test,  the  supreme  test  of 
the  master  teacher. 

First  of  all,  you  want  to  ask  questions  that 
will  reveal  to  you  just  what  the  pupil  knows. 
These  questions  should  draw  out  his  knowledge 
of  the  last  lesson.  You  do  not  need  to  ask 
many — three  or  four,  as  a  rule,  will  serve  your 
purpose.  When  you  have  found  something 
that  he  knows  you  are  ready  to  build  upon  it 
the  things  you  want  him  to  learn. 

Then  you  should  ask  a  few  questions  to  find 
out  whether  the  pupil  has  read  the  lesson  text 
correctly.  Does  he  know  what  it  says  ?  A 
great  many  people  habitually  misread  things. 
Grown-up  people  do  it  as  well  as  little  children. 
Said  Smith,  "  I  see  by  the  morning's  paper  that 
Willie  Jones  got  hurt  on  his  automobile." 
82 


How  to  Ask  Questions  83 

"  Sure  ?  "  said  I.  "  Sure."  "  But  Willie  Jones 
does  not  own  an  automobile."  "  I  don't  know 
about  that ;  it  is  what  the  paper  said.  I  read 
it  myself."  Then  I  took  up  the  paper  and  read 
how  Willie  Jones  had  been  hurt  by  a  passing 
automobile.  Half  the  children  in  your  class 
have  very  likely  misread  at  least  one  or  two 
verses  in  the  lesson.  You  want  to  get  the  les- 
son text  clearly  before  their  vision. 

The  next  thing  is  to  ask  questions  that  will 
clear  up  the  meaning  of  the  text.  There  are 
several  obscure  words  and  phrases  which  you 
do  not  want  to  explain  yourself  if  you  can  get 
your  pupils  to  explain  them  for  you.  Fre- 
quently if  a  child  does  not  know  what  a  word 
means  you  may  ask  several  questions  that  will 
lead  up  to  the  meaning  and  will  reveal  it  to 
him.  It  is  always  better  to  ask  questions  that 
will  help  the  child  to  see  the  thing  for  himself 
than  to  point  out  the  thing  to  him.  In  asking 
questions  of  this  sort  care  must  be  taken  not  to 
consume  too  much  time.  Don't  ask  questions 
about  things  of  little  or  no  importance. 

When  you  have  gotten  at  the  meaning  of  the 
text — that  is  to  say  when  you  have  cleared  up 
these  difficult  words  and  phrases  so  that  your 
pupils  will  be  able  to  repeat  the  lesson  text  in 
their  own  words  and  phrases,  you  will  be  ready 
to  ask  questions  that  will  bring  out  the  teach- 
ing of  the  lesson.     This  is  the  most  difficult 


84     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

task  of  all.  A  great  many  teachers,  when  they 
get  to  this  point,  don't  know  what  to  say  next 
except  to  ask,  "Now,  what  does  the  lesson 
teach  us  ?  "  As  a  rule,  when  one  has  gotten  to 
this  point,  no  pupil  is  ready  to  tell  what  the 
lesson  teaches.  Besides,  the  lesson  may  teach 
a  great  many  things  and  not  merely  one  truth. 
You  do  not  want  to  bring  out  everything  the 
lesson  teaches.  You  want  to  select  some  one 
important  truth — the  most  important  truth — 
the  central  truth  of  the  lesson,  and  you  want 
to  ask  a  series  of  questions  that  will  bring  the 
pupil  to  that  central  truth.  Don't  ask  what  is 
the  heart  of  the  lesson.  Lead  him  up  to  the 
heart  of  the  lesson.  The  only  way  to  do  work 
of  this  sort  effectively  is  to  prepare  for  it 
beforehand.  In  the  quiet  of  your  own  room 
you  want  to  ask  yourself.  What  is  the  gist  of 
this  lesson  ?  What  is  it  about  ?  What  can  I 
get  out  of  it  for  myself  ?  The  thing  that  you 
get  out  of  it  for  yourself  is  very  likely  the 
thing  you  will  want  to  teach  your  pupils. 
With  this  great  central  truth  in  view,  make  an 
outline  of  the  lesson  that  will  lead  up  to  it.  I 
would  make  this  outline  in  the  form  of  ques- 
tions— just  as  few  questions  as  will  be  necessary 
to  lead  from  the  beginning  of  the  lesson  on  up 
to  the  central  truth.  These  questions  I  would 
write  down  on  a  slip  of  paper,  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  them  to  the  class  on  paper,  but 


How  to  Ask  Questions  85 

for  the  purpose  of  taking  them  to  the  class  in  my 
mind.  As  a  rule  the  questions  which  you  write 
down  on  paper  in  their  natural  order  will  come 
to  your  mind  in  the  same  order  while  you  are 
teaching.  That  is,  if  you  make  your  questions 
clear,  direct  and  to  the  point.  You  want  to  use 
very  few  words  and  you  want  those  words  to 
be  of  the  simplest  sort.  A  rambling,  indefinite 
sort  of  a  question  will  not  &x  itself  in  your 
mind,  and  if  it  should  by  any  means  turn  up  in 
your  class,  it  will  not  be  worth  asking.  These 
questions  which  you  write  down  on  paper  be- 
fore going  to  the  class  ought  to  be  read  over 
and  studied  and  revised  until  you  are  sure  that 
they  have  been  put  in  the  simplest,  strongest 
and  most  direct  language  you  can  command. 
If  you  do  this  you  will  have  no  difficulty  what- 
ever in  recalling  them  when  in  the  act  of  teach- 
ing. Moreover,  they  will  be  impressed  so 
deeply  upon  your  mind  that  they  will  furnish 
an  outline  leading  directly  to  the  goal  which 
will  keep  your  own  mind  from  wandering, 
and  will  save  you  from  rambling,  indefinite 
teaching. 

Do  not  forget  that  the  ultimate  aim  of  all 
questioning  is  to  lead  the  pupils  up  to  and  help 
them  to  grasp  the  great  central  truth  of  the 
lesson.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  ask  ques 
tions  to  win  their  attention  unless  you  intend 
to  win  their  attention  to  the  lesson. 


86     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

Teachers  ask  why  they  have  so  much  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  their  pupils  to  answer  ques- 
tions.     There  are  several  reasons.     Some  teach- 
ers do  not  put  their  questions  clearly.     They 
are  too  indirect  and  too  long.     A  question  to  be 
clear  must   be   short   and   as    straight  as  an 
arrow.     Some  questions  go  beyond  the  range 
of  the  pupil's  knowledge.    The  wisest  man  in 
the  world  cannot  answer  that  sort  of  a  ques- 
tion.    If  your  pupils  are  timid  and  need  to  be 
encouraged,  ask  them  easy  questions,  but  do 
not  ask  questions  that  are  so  absurdly  simple  as 
to  make  them  feel  that  you  are  reflecting  upon 
their  intelligence.     Make  your  questions  con- 
crete.    Avoid  abstractions.     Don't  talk  about 
heroism  and  goodness  but  about  heroes  and 
good  men.     Don't  talk  about  people  and  places 
in  general  but  about  people  and  places  in  partic- 
ular.    Occasionally  I  would  ask  a  question  of 
the  whole  class,  but  as  a  rule  I  would  ask  it  of 
a  particular  pupil.     And  as  a  rule  ask  your 
question  first  and  then  call  the  name  of  the 
pupils  you  want  to  answer  it.     If  you  call  the 
name  of  the  pupil  first  the  rest  will  feel  that 
they  are  off  duty  for  the  moment  and   will 
cease  to  pay  attention.     For  the  same  reason  I 
would  never  ask  questions  of  pupils  in  rotation. 
You  are  not  going  to  get  your  pupils  to  answer 
well  until  you  get  them  to  listen  well.     The 
secret  of  prompt  answers  is  to  so  teach  the 


How  to  Ask  Questions  87 

lesson  as  to  have  the  attention  of  all  your 
pupils  all  of  the  time. 

I  would  not  do  anything  to  make  children 
answer  questions.  Probably  one  reason  why 
your  pupils  don't  answer  your  questions  is 
because  their  teacher  has  been  trying  to  force 
answers  out  of  them.  Children  don't  like  to  be 
approached  with  a  crowbar.  Stop  trying  to 
make  them  answer  questions  and  try  to  learn 
the  art  of  asking  them  so  that  they  will  want 
to  answer.  I  know  a  teacher  who  can  hardly 
finish  a  question  before  every  child  in  the  class 
is  trying  to  answer. 

In  teaching  very  timid  children  I  would 
begin  by  asking  a  few  easy  questions  of  the 
whole  class  and  having  the  pupils  answer  in 
concert.  Usually  the  most  timid  child  can  be 
induced  to  answer  simple  questions  along  with 
the  rest.  Of  course  answering  in  concert  is 
not  much  of  a  mental  exercise  and  it  should  be 
abandoned  as  soon  as  the  more  timid  pupils 
have  been  drawn  out  by  it.  But  care  should 
be  taken  not  to  frighten  these  timid  ones  back 
into  their  shells  by  asking  them  diificult  ques- 
tions. Simple  questions  for  the  timid  so  long 
as  they  are  timid. 

I  have  known  the  diffidence  of  grown-up 
people  in  a  class  to  be  overcome  by  a  simple 
expedient.  The  teacher  would  say  :  "  Before 
beginning  the  lesson  let  us  spend  a  few  minutes 


88     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

in  a  simple  Bible  drill.  I  am  going  to  ask  a 
few  questions — ^you'll  laugh  at  them  because 
they  are  so  simple  perhaps— and  I  want  you  to 
answer  them  all  together  just  as  if  you  were 
children.  The  simplest  things  need  to  be  often 
repeated  to  keep  them  clear  in  one's  mind. 
Now,  ready  " — and  then  he  would  fire  a  dozen 
questions  at  them  on,  say,  the  names  and  order 
of  the  books  of  the  Bible,  and  the  class  would 
answer  in  concert.  Frequently  the  whole  class 
would  get  into  a  glow  of  interest,  the  diffidence 
would  all  disappear,  and  the  teacher  would  glide 
into  the  lesson  before  they  were  conscious  of  it. 
Perhaps  after  all  the  most  important  thing 
in  asking  a  question  is  the  manner  in  which  you 
ask  it.  I  don't  care  what  your  question  is,  if 
you  do  not  ask  it  in  a  way  to  invite  an  answer 
you  are  not  likely  to  get  the  answer  you  want. 
Some  teachers  throw  questions  at  their  pupils 
as  if  they  were  stoning  them,  and  then  wonder 
why  nobody  seems  disposed  to  answer.  Culti- 
vate a  pleasing,  spirited,  cordial  manner. 


XVI 
HOW  TO  ILLUSTEATE  THE  LESSON 

IT  goes  without  saying  that  the  teacher 
must  use  illustrations,  for  illustrating  is  a 
large  part  of  the  teacher's  work.  For 
teaching  is  the  art  of  making  one  see  and  grasp 
things,  and  the  chief  business  of  the  teacher  in 
many  a  lesson  is  simply  to  shed  light  upon 
things  so  that  they  will  be  clearly  photographed 
upon  the  pupils'  minds,  and  warmly  welcomed 
into  the  pupils'  hearts. 

And  to  illustrate  is  to  shed  light.  It  is  just 
that— nothing  more,  nothing  less.  Some  teach- 
ers have  an  idea  that  an  illustration  is  an 
anecdote,  and  they  seem  to  think  that  the 
longer  the  story  the  better  it  will  illustrate.  If 
you  can  tell  a  story  so  that  it  will  shed  light- 
so  that  it  will  bring  out  more  clearly  and  at- 
tractively the  truth  you  are  trying  to  teach- 
that  story  will  be  an  illustration ;  but  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  story  does  not  make  it  an  illustration. 
There  are  teachers  who  spend  half  the  time  in 
class  telling  stories  which  have  been  suggested 
to  them  by  the  lesson,  and  imagine  that  they  are 
illustrating  the  lesson,  when  they  are  only  mak- 
ing their  pupils  forget  it.  A  long  story  draws 
89 


go     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

the  mind  of  the  pupil  so  far  away  from  the 
lesson  that  when  it  is  through  he  has  lost  all 
idea  of  what  the  teacher  set  out  to  illustrate. 
And  sometimes  the  teacher  forgets,  too.  I 
would  avoid  all  long  stories  for  this  reason  if 
for  no  other,  and  I  would  avoid  exciting  stories 
for  the  same  reason.  Then,  too,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  avoid  all  stories  which 
open  up  a  tempting  field  of  fancy  for  young 
minds  to  roam  in.  1  would  never  tell  a  Christ- 
mas story  just  before  Christmas — not  if  I  wanted 
my  pupils  to  think  of  anything  the  rest  of  the 
lesson  hour.  Nor  would  I  tell  a  picnic  story  at 
the  picnic  season. 

I  do  not  believe  in  the  free  use  of  stories — 
especially  second-hand  stories  gotten  out  of 
books  and  papers.  Now  and  then  they  may 
be  used  effectively,  but  more  often  they  are 
used  harmfully.  I  do  not  believe  that  it  is 
worth  while  to  amuse  pupils  just  to  interest 
them.  If  we  would  think  of  the  pupils  them- 
selves as  much  as  we  think  of  plans  to  interest 
them  we  would  not  find  it  necessary  to  tell 
many  stories  in  order  to  secure  their  attention. 
The  best  way  in  the  world  to  interest  boys  is  to 
take  an  interest  in  the  boys  themselves,  and  to 
show  it  by  talking  with  them  about  what  they 
are  doing.  Don't  talk  to  them,  talk  with  them. 
Drop  into  an  easy  conversation  about  some 
things  that  have  interested  them  during  the 


How  to  Illustrate  the  Lesson  91 

past  week  and  then  watch  your  chance  to  lead 
up  to  the  lesson.  As  a  rule  the  chance  is  sure 
to  come  sooner  or  later — usually  sooner  than 
you  will  expect.  Somebody  will  say  something 
that  will  suggest  something  that  is  in  the  lesson, 
and  before  they  know  it  you  will  have  them  in 
the  very  middle  of  it.  Some  teachers  will  tell 
you  that  it  is  dangerous  to  introduce  such 
foreign  matters  into  a  class,  and  then  they  will 
go  off  and  get  a  story  out  of  a  book  a  thousand 
miles  further  off.  Story  telling  is  a  talent, 
but  it  is  not  a  necessary  talent,  if  you  will  sit 
down  in  the  midst  of  your  pupils,  on  their  level, 
and  begin  where  you  find  them.  Boys  are  more 
interested  in  things  they  are  doing  and  want 
to  do  than  in  all  the  stories  in  the  world. 
Besides,  when  you  talk  with  them  about  what 
they  are  doing  the  conviction  grows  upon  them 
that  you  are  interested  in  them,  and  you  might 
tell  a  thousand  stories  without  making  them 
feel  that  you  care  a  fig  for  them. 

I  would  never  tell  more  than  one  story  in  the 
course  of  a  lesson,  and  frequently  I  would  not 
tell  any  at  all.  There  are  easier  and  safer  ways 
to  illustrate.  For  example,  you  can  often  shed 
light  on  a  truth  you  are  trying  to  teach  by  call- 
ing attention  to  certain  facts  or  events  which 
come  within  the  range  of  a  child's  every-day 
life.  Sometimes  a  simple  design  on  a  black- 
board or  a  writing  pad  (I  would  always  carry  a 


92     Secrets  of  Sunday- School  Teaching 

writing  pad  to  Sunday-school  if  I  did  not  have 
a  blackboard)  will  bring  out  a  truth  with  sur- 
prising clearness.  Occasionally  I  would  use 
familiar  objects  as  object  lessons.  Here,  how- 
ever, as  in  telling  stories,  one  must  be  careful. 
An  object  lesson  must  not  be  too  novel.  It 
must  not  create  a  sensation.  Chemical  experi- 
ments before  a  class  are  interesting,  but  in  a 
primary  department  they  create  such  a  sensa- 
tion that  the._children  never  get  back  to  the 
l^ssonagain.  The  more  familiar  the  object  the 
better.  Again  it  must  not  be  something  that 
the  pupils  will  covet,  or  something  that  will 
awaken  appetite.  A  prettily  dressed  doll  may 
make  what  you  will  regard  as  a  perfect  love  of 
an  object  lesson  but  to  the  little  tots  before  you 
it  will  be  a  perfect  love  of  a  doll  which  they 
would  dearly  love  to  have  for  their  very  own. 
A  glass  of  water  is  a  very  effective  object  lesson, 
but  I  would  never  use  it  on  a  warm  day  if  I 
wanted  to  awaken  anything  in  my  pupils  besides 
thirst. 

Nevertheless  there  is  nothing  more  helpful 
when  used  at  the  right  time  than  an  object  les- 
son of  the  right  sort.  If  you  wanted  to  go  to 
'Frisco  and  you  had  your  choice  between  a 
Pullman  and  an  ox-cart,  would  you  choose  an 
ox-cart  ?  If  you  wanted  to  reach  the  mind  of 
a  child,  and  you  could  reach  it  in  one-half  the 
time  and  with  one-half  the  trouble  through  the 


How  to  Illustrate  the  Lesson  93 

Eye-gate  that  it  would  take  to  reach  it  through 
the  Ear-gate,  should  you  choose  the  Ear-gate  ? 
We  take  to  short  routes  and  to  time-saving  in- 
ventions as  a  duck  takes  to  water,  and  yet  how 
slow  we  are  to  grasp  the  possibilities  of  the 
shortest  route  to  the  mind.  I  say  "  we  "  ;  I 
mean  we  Protestants ;  our  Catholic  friends 
learned  the  route  long  ago  and  they  go  by  no 
other  if  they  can  help  it.  If  the  Catholic  is 
more  devoted  to  his  church  than  the  Protestant 
it  is  largely  because  of  what  the  Catholic  is 
made  to  see  and  handle  while  the  Protestant  is 
left  to  work  it  out  with  his  imagination.  And 
so  many  of  us  are  lacking  in  imagination ! 
One  may  say  that  Kome  has  overdone  it,  and 
perhaps  she  has,  but  any  one  who  knows  any- 
thing of  the  fundamental  principles  of  teaching 
will  tell  us  that  we  Protestants  have  neglected 
a  great  opportunity.  We  indulge  in  so  many 
abstractions  when  we  might  give  to  our  pupils 
something  they  can  see  with  their  own  eyes. 
We  talk  of  principles  in  general  when  we  ought 
to  show  them  things  in  the  concrete.  Many  a 
teacher  spends  half  an  hour  trying  to  explain  a 
thing  by  word  of  mouth  when  a  pencil  and  a 
slip  of  paper  and  two  or  three  crooked  marks 
would  make  it  as  clear  as  daylight  in  two 
minutes. 

There  are  so  many  ways  in  which  we  might 
make  use  of  the  Eye-gate  to  our  profit.    We 


94     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

use  it  a  good  deal  in  the  primary  depart- 
ment, when  we  might  use  it  in  all  the  depart- 
ments. 

We  overestimate  the  strength  of  the  average 
mind  of  the  big  boy  and  girl  and  even  of  the 
grown  up.  We  think  pictures  and  blocks  are 
for  little  children,  but  we  never  outgrow  the 
picture-and-block  age.  The  prof  oundest  thinker 
will  listen  to  your  talk  as  you  walk  with  a 
yawn,  and  open  his  eyes  wide  with  new  inter- 
est the  moment  you  stop  to  illustrate  your  prop- 
osition with  a  stick  in  the  sand.  There  are 
few  methods  to  reach  the  mind  through  the 
eye  that  are  in  use  in  the  primary  department 
which  might  not  be  adapted  to  our  most  ad- 
vanced classes. 

I  would  always  choose  my  illustrations  before 
going  to  the  class.  If  you  leave  it  to  the  in- 
spiration of  the  moment  you  may  not  think  of 
any  illustrations  at  all,  or  those  you  think  of 
may  fail  to  illustrate.  But  do  not  forget  to  go 
first  in  your  search  for  illustrations  to  your  own 
every-day  life.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  asking 
about  everything  you  see  and  hear,  and  read  in 
the  newspapers.  What  will  this  illustrate? 
There  are  no  illustrations  like  home-made  ones 
be  they  ever  so  homely.  There  is  as  much  dif- 
ference between  telling  something  that  you 
have  seen  with  your  own  eyes  and  something 
you  have  read  in  a  book,  as  there  is  between 


How  to  Illustrate  the  Lesson  95 

the  discourse  of  a  preacher  whose  words  come 
hot  from  his  heart  and  a  discourse  read  from 
the  pulpit  from  a  volume  of  South's  Sermons. 
The  printed  sermon  may  be  far  better  than  the 
spoken,  but,  in  the  language  of  the  street,  it 
somehow  fails  to  reach  the  spot.  Next  to 
something  that  has  happened  in  your  experi- 
ence is  something  that  you  have  read  in  the 
daily  newspapers,  because  the  daily  paper  is  a 
record  of  the  every-day  life  of  our  own  day. 
Last  of  all  you  may  go  to  a  book ;  but  don't  if 
you  can  help  it.  And  never — never  at  the  peril 
of  your  life— go  to  an  encyclopedia  of  illustra- 
tions. An  encyclopedia  of  illustrations  is  a 
pretty  good  museum  but  a  mighty  poor  tool 
chest. 

There  are  hidden  stores  of  illustrations  locked 
up  in  your  memory  and  visible  stores  of  illustra- 
tions within  the  bounds  of  your  vision — enough 
to  last  a  lifetime.  A  book  of  illustrations  on 
22ur  study_table_.is_the,  greatest  obstacle  you 
can  put  in  the.  way  of  learning  theart  of  illus- 
trating. 


XYII 

HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  MOST  OP  A  BIBLE 
STOEY 

TO  make  the  most  of  a  Bible  story,  it 
must  be  used  not  as  a  picture  to  please 
but  as  an  illustration  to  instruct. 
Whether  drawn  artistically  with  coloured  chalks 
or  roughly  sketched  with  a  quick,  bold  hand,  it 
is  given  us  not  to  criticize,  but  to  teach  us  what 
we  need  to  know. 

In  a  certain  school  the  lesson  on  Daniel  and 
his  temptation  was  presented  by  an  intelligent 
teacher  as  a  very  beautiful  but  very  old  paint- 
ing to  be  admired  by  the  class.  When  the 
children  went  home  of  course  they  left  the  paint- 
ing behind  them.  It  was  a  magnificent  oppor- 
tunity shamefully  wasted. 

Suppose  the  teacher  had  said:  "Now,  chil- 
dren, here  is  a  young  man  severely  tempted. 
Let  us  watch  him  and  see  how  he  overcomes 
his  temptation  so  that  we  may  know  what  to 
do  when  we  are  tempted."  That  would  have 
been  better  than  placing  on  exhibition  an  old 
painting.  See  how  practical  it  could  be  made. 
First,  they  have  a  look  at  the  youth.  What  sort 
of  a  youth  must  Daniel  have  been,  to  overcome 
96 


How  to  Make  the  Most  of  a  Bible  Story  97 

such  a  temptation  ?  Then  they  would  look  at 
the  temptation.  "What  made  the  king's  meat 
so  hard  to  resist  ?  In  the  first  place  Daniel  was 
very  young — at  the  very  age  when  such  a 
temptation  is  strongest.  In  the  second  place, 
he  was  away  from  home.  Temptations  are 
always  strongest  when  away  from  home — out 
of  sight  of  mother  and  playmates  and  the 
people  that  know  you.  In  the  third  place,  he 
might  have  said :  "  I  am  in  Babylon ;  why 
not  do  as  Babylon  does  ?  Why  be  peculiar  ?  " 
No  boy  wants  to  be  peculiar.  "What's  the 
use  of  being  the  only  one  in  the  crowd  who 
refuses  to  drink  ?  "  "  What's  the  use  of  making 
a  scene  ?  "  Then  he  might  have  said,  "  I'll  get 
my  new  friends  in  trouble."  The  young  man 
at  his  first  dinner  party  says  something  like 
that.  "Why  offend  my  hostess  by  refusing 
this  wine  when  she  has  been  so  kind  to  me  ?  " 
Then  he  might  have  said,  "  What  harm  is  there 
in  the  meat  and  wine  in  itself  ?  "  And,  finally, 
it  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death  with  him — 
just  as  it  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death  with 
every  boy  when  he  is  about  to  decide  about 
that  first  drink. 

Now  the  interesting  question  would  come 
up :  How  did  he  overcome  ?  In  the  first 
place,  he  started  at  the  beginning.  He  stopped 
before  he  began.  He  did  not  indulge  a  few 
days  with  the  intention  of  stopping  as  soon  as 


98     Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

it  could  be  done  without  a  scene.  In  the 
second  place,  he  purposed  in  his  heart.  He 
said,  Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish, 
I  will  not  touch  it.  Not  many  boys  start  out 
that  way.  "  I  expect  to  be  a  temperance  man, 
of  course ;  but  as  to  never  taking  a  glass  of 
wine,  I  don't  care  to  make  any  rash  promises." 
Such  a  boy's  purpose  to  be  a  temperance  man  is 
not  of  the  sink  or  swim  variety.  In  the  third 
place,  he  went  to  work  to  carry  his  purpose 
into  effect.  He  made  arrangements  to  keep 
the  temptation  out  of  his  way.  And  last,  but 
not  least,  God  helped  him — as  God  helps  every 
young  man  who  starts  in  life  with  the  right 
purpose  in  his  heart. 

Then  the  teacher  would  talk  about  the  re- 
wards; the  benefit  of  abstinence  to  the  body 
and  the  mind  and  the  social  standing :  and 
above  all  the  soul's  standing ;  and  how  that 
benefit,  unlike  propping  up  on  beer,  is  perma- 
nent. 

And  finally  the  teacher  would  lead  his  pupils 
up  to  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter : 

"  Dare  to  be  a  Daniel ! " 


XYIII 
PRESSING  HOME  THE  CENTRAL  TRUTH 

IT  is  not  worth  while  to  ask  questions  to 
awaken  the  minds  of  your  pupils  unless 
you  are  going  to  use  their  awakened  minds 
to  grasp  the  central  truth  of  the  lesson.  Now 
and  then  you  will  have  a  lesson  in  which  the 
central  truth  is  not  apparent.  It  may  teach 
several  truths  and  no  one  of  them  may  appear 
more  prominent  than  the  rest.  In  such  a  case 
you  should  choose  the  truth  that  has  made  the 
deepest  impression  upon  your  own  heart.  You 
may  sometimes  miss  the  mark  but  you  are  not 
likely  to  go  far  wrong.  The  important  thing 
is  to  have  one  great  truth  to  press  home  and  to 
have  one  only. 

This  is  a  matter  you  can  never  afford  to  for- 
get. A  great  many  teachers  fail  to  teach  any- 
thing because  they  try  to  teach  too  many 
things.  It  is  worth  while  to  remember  that 
the  brain  of  a  child  is  of  limited  capacity. 
Most  of  our  brains  are,  for  that  matter.  You 
can  put  so  much  into  one's  head  at  a  time,  and 
no  more.  This  is  as  true  of  the  heart  as  of  the 
head.  Teachers  have  found  out  by  experience 
that  if  you  would  put  anything  into  the  head 
99 


100    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

of  a  child  in  order  that  it  may  find  its  way  into 
his  heart  you  must  insert  only  one  truth  at  a 
time.  Teach  only  one  truth  and  it  may  find  its 
way  into  his  heart.  Crowd  his  brain  with 
several  truths  and  the  probability  is  that 
nothing  will  find  its  way  down  into  his  heart. 

A  lesson  makes  an  impression  very  much  like 
a  picture.  If  a  picture  has  no  central  figure 
or  central  theme  it  is  not  likely  to  make  a 
lasting  impression  of  any  sort.  You  have  seen 
Munkacsy's  "  Christ  before  Pilate."  You  have 
never  forgotten  it.  You  will  never  forget  it 
because  you  cannot  forget  its  central  figure.  If 
Christ  had  not  been  brought  out  so  prominently 
— if  He  had  been  placed  in  the  picture  along 
with  the  crowd — the  picture  as  a  whole  would 
probably  have  left  no  impression  upon  you  at 
all.  You  would  not  see  it  in  your  mind's  eye 
as  you  see  it  to-day.  Yet  it  is  the  whole 
picture  that  you  see  and  not  Christ  only. 

I  would  handle  this  whole  matter  in  this 
way :  Here  is  a  lesson — to  illustrate — on  the 
healing  of  the  nobleman's  son  at  Cana.  In  the 
preparation  of  this  lesson  I  would  ask,  "  What 
is  it  in  this  lesson  that  impresses  me  most  ?  " 
Clearly  it  is  the  fact  that  this  man  who  knew 
so  little  about  Jesus  was  willing  to  take  Him 
at  His  word.  This  interests  me,  for  probably 
the  hardest  thing  I  ever  tried  to  do  was  to  take 
Jesus  at  His  word,  when  I  knew  as  little  about 


Pressing  Home  the  Central  Truth     loi 

Him  as  this  Eoman  officer  did.  And  this  will 
interest  my  pupils,  for  they  have  had  the  same 
experience.  And  some  of  them  are  thinking 
very  hard  of  God  to-day  for  requiring  them  to 
take  Him  at  His  word. 

I  would  think  over  this  matter  a  while.  I 
would  make  it  very  personal.  Do  I  take  Jesus 
at  His  word  ?  Am  I  not  continually  longing 
for  something  to  happen  that  will  demonstrate 
to  me  the  truth  of  what  He  has  told  me  ?  Do 
I  not  sometimes  feel  inclined  to  murmur  against 
God  who  gave  the  early  disciples  so  many  mira- 
cles to  help  their  faith  and  who  has  denied 
these  miracles  to  me  ?  Am  1  willing  to  take 
Him  at  His  word  ? 

Until  I  can  answer  this  question  as  it  ought 
to  be  answered  I  should  not  go  a  step  further. 
The  very  moment  I  have  answered  it,  how- 
ever, I  will  be  filled  with  a  desire  to  lead  my 
pupils  up  to  the  point  where  they  will  be  will- 
ing to  take  Jesus  at  His  word.  Then  I  will  say 
to  myself,  "  JSTow  I  am  going  to  teach  this  les- 
son for  the  sole  purpose  of  bringing  my  pupils 
to  the  point  of  taking  Jesus  at  His  word.  I 
am  going  to  picture  Jesus  in  such  a  light  that 
it  will  be  easy  for  them  to  take  Him  at  His 
word.  I  shall  have  no  other  purpose,  no  other 
thought.  Every  question  that  I  may  ask,  every 
incident  that  I  may  relate,  every  verse  that  I 
may  quote,  every  word  or  look  or  deed,  shall 


102    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

be  to  this  single  end.  If  I  can  go  to  my  class 
in  this  frame  of  mind  I  will  be  in  no  danger  of 
rambling,  of  teaching  a  little  of  this  and  a  little 
of  that,  of  clipping  up  the  lesson  and  serving  it 
as  so  much  Scripture  hash,  of  losing  a  moment's 
time  trying  to  decide  what  point  to  bring  out 
next.  My  aim  shall  shine  out  before  me  as  clear 
as  a  star  in  the  heavens,  and  I  shall  follow  that 
star  as  straight  as  an  arrow." 


XIX 
HOW  TO  CLOSE  THE  LESSON 

WHEN  you  have  gotten  at  the  mean- 
ing of  the  lesson,  what  do  you  do 
with  it?  I  know  some  very  fine 
folk  who  do  nothing  with  it.  They  tell  us  that 
it  is  unscholarly  to  study  a  thing  for  any  other 
purpose  than  to  know,  and  they  like  to  be 
scholarly.  It  sounds  well  to  be  scholarly. 
Professor  Up-to-date  Sophocles  spends  an  hour 
in  his  Sunday-school  class  discussing  the  meas- 
urements of  Noah's  ark.  !N"ext  Sunday  he  will 
run  his  yardstick  up  the  Tower  of  Babel.  The 
pupils  wonder  what  there  is  in  it  for  them,  but 
Professor  Sophocles  does  not  tell  them.  "  We 
study  the  truth  for  truth's  sake,"  says  the  pro- 
fessor, and  he  repels  with  scorn  the  base  sug- 
gestion that  the  truth  can  be  put  to  practical 
uses.  But  ordinary  folk  don't  mind  putting 
the  little  they  learn  to  practical  uses,  and  if  I 
find  anything  in  the  lesson  I  am  going  to  ask 
what  there  is  in  it  for  me.  If  a  man  studies 
the  Bible  simply  for  the  sake  of  knowing,  he 
may  become  the  greatest  scholar  in  the  world, 
but  he  will  not  necessarily  become  a  better 
man.  If  you  want  to  know  simply  in  order  to 
103 


104    Secrets  of  Sunday- School  Teaching 

know,  there  is  no  special  reason  why  you  should 
study  the  Bible — you  might  try  Plato.  But  if 
you  want  to  know  in  order  to  do^  you  will  find 
nothing  to  equal  the  Bible,  for  therein  is  all 
the  wealth  of  knowledge  that  sheds  light  on 
the  path  of  duty.  "  JS'oah  built  the  ark ;  let  us 
see  how  he  built  it,"  says  the  professor.  "Well 
enough,  but  before  he  is  through  with  his  meas- 
urements the  lesson  hour  is  over.  Of  course  it 
is  interesting,  and  much  of  it  is  necessary,  but 
you  and  I  want  something  more.  We  are  not 
going  to  learn  how  Noah  was  saved  unless  we 
learn  about  his  ark,  but  we  must  not  stop  with 
his  ark.  We  want  something  that  will  help  us 
in  building  our  own  ark.  I  want  to  be  saved 
— like  Noah.  And  so  when  I  learn  that  Noah 
built  the  ark,  I  ask.  What  is  there  in  it  for  me  ? 
And  when  I  look  into  the  matter,  I  find  that 
Noah  built  the  ark  in  obedience  to  God's  com- 
mand and  according  to  God's  instructions. 
This  is  the  kernel  of  the  matter.  This  is 
the  thing  that  makes  the  story  worth  while. 
Noah  w^as  saved  because  he  did  what  God 
told  him  to  do,  and  did  it  in  the  way  God 
told  him  to  do  it.  Now  I  will  go  and  do  like- 
wise. To-day,  to-morrow,  through  all  the  days 
to  come,  by  God's  help  I  am  going  to  do  what 
He  tells  me  to  do,  and  I  am  not  going  to  insist 
on  having  my  own  way.  I  am  going  to  do  it 
according  to  His  instructions.     This  may  sound 


How  to  Close  the  Lesson  1 05 

old-fashioned,  but  I'd  rather  get  at  the  kernel 
of  the  matter,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  out  of 
fashion. 

A  lesson  should  be  brought  to  a  close  by 
pressing  home  to  the  hearts  of  the  pupils  the 
heart  of  the  lesson.     How  this  should  be  done 
depends  upon  the  pupils,  the  lesson  and  the 
hour.     A  mere  exhortation  will  not  do;  fre- 
quently it    is    the  worst  thing  you  can  do. 
When  the  pupils  have  the  truth  clearly  in  their 
minds  you  want  to  press  it  down  into  their 
hearts.     Don't  think  of  driving  it  home ;  think 
of  pressing  it  home.     Some  teachers  would  do 
better  work  if  they  could  rid  their  minds  of 
the  image  of  driving  nails  home,  and  put  in  its 
place  the  thought  of  the  gentle  pressure  of  a 
loving  hand.     Often  the  best  thing  to  do  after 
the  truth  has  been  made  clear  is  to  pause  until 
every  one  is  perfectly  quiet  and  attentive  and 
then  tell  as  impressively  as  you  can  a  simple 
heart-story  illustrating  the  truths  you  are  teach- 
ing.    Tell  it  slowly  and  allow  no  one  to  inter- 
rupt you,  and  when  you  have  spoken  the  last 
word  remain  silent  a  moment  to  give  time  for 
the  story  to  do  its  work.     And  remember,  you 
want  a  story  that  appeals  to  the  heart,  or  none 
at  all.     Sometimes  it  is  well  to  ask  the  pupils 
to  write  down  on  paper  the  message  which 
they  think  the  lesson  has  for  them.     What  does 
it  teach  them  that  they  ought  to  be,  or  do  ? 


io6    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

Or  what  do  they  find  in  the  lesson  that  they 
think  will  be  of  the  most  help  to  them?  Often 
a  good  way  to  press  home  a  lesson  is  to  show 
the  pupils  a  picture  relating  to  it  or  illustrating 
its  central  truth.  Of  course  the  picture  should 
be  kept  out  of  sight  and  no  mention  made  of  it 
until  the  moment  you  are  to  show  it.  You  can 
do  this  in  a  way  that  will  create  a  deep  im- 
pression and  you  can  do  it  in  a  way  that  will 
create  no  impression  at  all.  If  you  have  an  ap- 
propriate poem — something  short  and  tender — 
you  might  repeat  it  at  the  close  of  the  lesson 
slowly  and  in  a  low  voice.  At  another  time  if 
you  have  a  beautiful  text  or  quotation  contain- 
ing the  very  cream  of  the  lesson,  or  its  most 
important  truth,  repeat  it  and  then  have  all  the 
pupils  repeat  it  in  concert. 

Whatever  may  be  chosen  to  close  with,  let  it 
be  warm,  tender,  inspiring.  All  difiiculties,  all 
those  points  which  suggest  unprofitable  discus- 
sion, all  seeming  harshness  should  be  gotten  out 
of  the  way  early  in  the  lesson.  If  Sinai  thun- 
ders, give  the  echo  time  to  die  out.  If  you 
must  utter  a  word  of  rebuke,  utter  it  and  get  it 
out  of  the  way.  If  you  find  yourself  bursting 
with  that  little  joke,  tell  it  early  in  the  lesson 
(it  is  better  to  tell  it  than  burst),  and  get  rid  of 
it.  Everything  should  be  gotten  out  of  the  way 
that  there  may  be  room  for  the  still  small  voice. 
And  you  should  plan  your  lesson  so  that  these 


How  to  Close  the  Lesson  107 

last  w6rds  shall  be  spoken  during  the  last  min- 
utes of  the  lesson  hour.  They  may  as  well  re- 
main unspoken  if  the  lesson  is  hurried  through 
with  in  order  to  have  Ryo  minutes  at  the  end 
to  "  talk  about  something  else." 


XX 
OTHEE  TEACHING  POINTS 

NOTHIJSTG  interests  us  like  folks. 
You  can  awaken  interest  in  the 
dullest  lesson  if  you  will  only  put 
people  in  it.  Everybody  is  attracted  by  the  hu- 
man element.  Everybody  likes  to  hear  about 
people.  Everybody  devours  the  personal  col- 
umn in  the  newspapers,  and  women,  at  least, 
read  the  marriages  and  deaths,  which  are  in- 
teresting personals.  This  inborn  interest  in  our 
fellows  is  a  mighty  force  in  the  development  of 
character.  Is  that  boy  in  your  class  without  am- 
bition ?  Give  him  a  story  of  a  flesh-and-blood 
hero.  If  it  does  not  stir  him  it  will  be  because 
there  is  nothing  in  him  to  stir. 

2.  You  never  know  what  you  are  really 
teaching  until  you  hear  from  your  pupils.  A 
wise  teacher  seeks  expression  from  his  pupils  at 
every  step.  To  try  to  teach  a  silent  class  is  like 
trying  to  do  a  very  delicate  piece  of  work  in 
the  dark:  you  never  know  when  you  hit  or 
when  you  miss,  though  you  may  be  sure  that 
as  a  rule  you  miss.  Getting  a  pupil  to  speak 
his  mind  not  only  clarifies  a  matter  and  fixes  it 
in  his  mind,  but  it  sheds  light  for  you  to  work 
jo8 


Other  Teaching  Points  109 

by  as  well.    You  know  what  you  are  doing  and 
what  to  do  next. 

3.  Don't  try  to  teach  the  meaning  of  a  verse 
without  regard  to  its  surroundings.  Texts  of 
Scripture  are  not  nuggets  of  gold  scattered  along 
the  road  to  heaven  to  toll  us  upward,  but  rather 
they  are  inseparable  links  of  a  golden  chain 
stretched  along  the  way  for  our  guidance.  It 
is  a  silly  habit  we  have  of  chopping  off  a  link 
as  the  notion  takes  us  to  try  to  make  it  do  the 
duty  of  the  whole  chain. 

4.  It  may  be  true  that  the  sole  business  of 
the  teacher  of  mathematics  is  to  make  the  lesson 
clear,  but  it  is  not  true  of  the  teacher  of  the 
Bible.  In  the  Sunday-school  we  do  not  teach 
our  pupils  simply  in  order  that  they  may  know ; 
we  teach  them  in  order  that  they  may  do,  and 
we  have  learned  that  merely  making  a  lesson 
clear  seldom  moves  one  to  do  anything.  When 
the  lesson  is  made  clear  so  that  the  mind  will 
take  it  in,  it  must  then  be  presented  so  that  the 
heart  will  take  it  in.  It  must  be  laid  on  the 
conscience. 

5.  Should  a  teacher  attempt  to  answer  a 
question  the  discussion  of  which  is  likely  to 
awaken  doubt  ?  As  a  rule  I  would  not  attempt 
to  answer  a  question  of  this  sort  in  class  unless 
I  saw  that  other  pupils  besides  the  questioner 
were  interested.  In  this  event  evading  the 
question  might  do  more  harm  than  even  an 


no    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

awkward  attempt  to  answer  it.  If  one  or  two 
pupils  only  are  interested  I  would  promise  to 
talk  over  the  matter  with  them  privately.  In 
that  event,  however,  I  would  be  careful  not  to 
suggest  more  doubts  than  are  already  in  the 
pupils'  minds.  One  may  do  that  by  one's  man- 
ner as  easily  as  by  what  one  may  say.  Better 
not  attempt  to  answer  at  all  than  to  hesitate  or 
betray  anxiety  or  act  as  though  you  felt  that 
you  were  in  a  tight  place. 

6.  Keep  your  Bible  closed  so  that  you  may 
look  at  your  pupils.  The  teacher  who  does  not 
use  his  eyes  in  teaching  keeps  his  best  talent 
hidden  in  a  napkin.  A  good  pair  of  eyes 
properly  used  will  do  more  to  hold  attention 
and  to  keep  up  the  current  of  sympathy  be- 
tween your  teacher  and  pupil  than  anything 
else  you  possess.  Look  straight  into  the  eyes  of 
your  pupils  all  of  the  time. 

7.  One  reason  why  some  children  take  no 
interest  in  Bible  stories  is  because  they  have  not 
the  slightest  idea  where  the  incidents  related 
occurred.  To  make  a  story  interesting  it  must 
be  given  a  local  habitation  as  well  as  a  name. 
A  child  must  see  the  place  and  the  people. 
The  cure  for  a  great  deal  of  the  prevailing  in- 
difference to  Bible  history  is  a  faithful  study  of 
Bible  geography.  Get  the  children  thoroughly 
interested  in  the  land  of  the  Book  and  you  will 
have  little  difficulty  in  getting  them  interested 


Other  Teaching  Points  1 1 1 

in  the  Book.  The  most  pressing  need  of  many 
a  class  is  a  map  and  a  teacher  who  knows  how 
to  use  it.  Never  mind  about  a  bought  map. 
A  simple  outline  on  a  blackboard  or  on  a  sheet 
of  paper  is  better.  What  you  want  is  not 
merely  to  own  a  map,  but  to  use  the  map  you 
own. 

8.  Partiality  is  a  great  evil,  but  it  is  worth 
while  to  remember  that  children  are  apt  to 
think  you  are  partial  at  times  whatever  you 
do,  and  that  it  is  better  to  show  kindness  at 
the  risk  of  appearing  partial  than  not  to  show 
kindness  at  all. 

9.  The  average  teacher's  greatest  mistake  is 
in  taking  it  for  granted  that  our  pupils  un- 
derstand what  we  are  saying,  when  as  a  matter 
of  fact  our  sentences  are  about  as  liable  to  get 
twisted  on  the  way  into  their  little  heads  as 
they  are  to  keep  straight.  A  little  child 
especially  is  apt  to  turn  the  sentence  to  suit 
that  which  is  already  uppermost  in  his  mind. 

10.  The  average  young  girl  usually  shields 
herself  from  her  teacher's  efforts  to  lead  her  to 
Christ  by  insisting  that  she  never  does  any 
harm  and  therefore  does  not  need  to  repent  like 
other  people.  Set  before  her  a  picture  that  will 
show  her  the  absurdity  of  her  position.  For 
example,  you  hire  a  man  to  work  on  your  farm. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  he  comes  to  you  with  a 
statement  of  what  he  has  done,  expecting  a 


112    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

settlement.  "  I  have  been  a  very  inoffensive 
labourer,"  he  says ;  and  he  begins  to  tell  you 
how  he  has  never  done  you  any  harm ;  how  he 
did  not  sow  tares  in  your  wheat  while  you 
slept ;  how  he  did  not  pull  up  all  your  corn,  and 
tear  down  your  fences,  and  cut  down  the  best 
trees  in  your  orchard.  You  soon  grow  very 
tired  of  that.  What  a  dunce  he  is  to  think 
you  will  pay  him  for  what  he  hasn't  done ! 
JSTow  this  world  is  a  great  plantation,  and  God 
is  the  landlord  of  every  one  of  us  tenants.  No 
other  view  of  life  will  explain  anything  we  see 
about  us.  There  cometh  a  harvest  and  a  time 
of  reckoning.  Empty-handed  you  go  up  to  the 
judgment.  Before  you  and  behind  you  walk 
men  burdened  with  many  sheaves.  The  eyes 
of  the  Master  are  turned  inquiringly  upon  you, 
and  a  burning  flush  mantles  your  conscious 
cheek.  Where  are  your  sheaves  ?  "  Lord,  1 
have  done  no  harm  !  " 

11.  "  Is  it  best  to  try  to  teach  after  I  become 
weary  ?  "  No.  But  pray,  why  should  a  teacher 
grow  weary  in  the  midst  of  his  teaching  ?  You 
may  feel  as  limp  as  a  dish-rag  when  the  lesson 
is  over,  but  if  you  are  thoroughly  interested  in 
your  work  you  will  not  be  conscious  of  a  par- 
ticle of  weariness  while  the  lesson  is  being 
taught.  When  a  teacher  is  weary  in  the  lesson 
you  may  be  sure  he  is  weary  of  the  lesson. 

12.  "  Is  it  best  to  try  to  teach  after  the 


Other  Teaching  Points  11^ 

children  have  become  weary?"  ISTo.  This 
does  not  mean,  however,  that  no  further  effort 
should  be  made  to  teach  during  the  lesson  hour. 
Some  teachers  stop  the  moment  they  see  signs 
of  weariness,  and  spend  the  rest  of  the  hour  in 
idle  gossip.  I  would  suspend  the  lesson  long 
enough  to  rest  the  pupils  and  then  begin  again. 

13.  You  want  life  in  your  class  of  course, 
but  do  not  imagine  that  you  can  get  it  by  work- 
ing up  your  pupils  to  a  high  pitch  of  excite- 
ment. "  We  had  a  glorious  time  last  Sunday : 
you  should  have  seen  how  I  kept  those  children 
excited  all  the  time."  Poor  teacher !  it  did  not 
occur  to  him  that  while  animation  makes  one's 
head  as  clear  as  a  bell,  when  one  is  excited  one 
has  no  head  at  all. 

14.  The  best  way  to  deal  with  doubt  is  to 
love  the  doubter  enough  to  be  patient  with  him, 
and  to  resist  the  temptation  to  ridicule  him.  A 
doubter  was  never  cured  by  calling  him  a  fool. 
I  think  this  after  all  is  our  greatest  mistake  in 
dealing  with  young  men  who  are  afflicted  with 
doubt.  It  does  not  make  so  much  difference 
whether  we  can  clarify  their  minds  or  not  if  we 
will  only  be  forbearing,  and  if  our  sympathy 
will  be  without  any  admixture  of  pity.  The 
spell  will  be  over  in  the  course  of  time,  and 
the  young  man's  mind  will  clear  up  of  itself,  if 
only  those  around  him  will  make  no  mistake. 

15.    A  teacher  may  and  should  make  an  ap- 


1 14    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

peal  to  his  pupils  as  a  whole  to  accept  Christ, 
but  he  should  not  single  out  a  pupil  and 
appeal  to  him  in  the  presence  of  his  companions. 
It  is  always  a  perilous  experiment  to  approach 
a  man  about  a  sacredly  private  matter  in  the 
presence  of  others.  And  it  is  even  more 
perilous  to  approach  a  child.  A  man  resents 
your  efforts  to  uncover  his  heart  in  public ;  he 
does  not  even  want  you  to  point  to  it.  If  he 
should  become  wrought  up  sufficiently  to  expose 
it  himself  that  is  another  matter.  A  child 
guards  his  feelings  even  more  jealously,  partly 
because  of  greater  timidity  and  partly  because 
he  is  conscious  that  he  lives  in  an  unsympathetic 
atmosphere.  A  man  may  be  persuaded  that 
he  is  surrounded  by  friends  who  can  enter 
into  his  feelings  and  who  are  longing  to  help 
him  carry  his  heart's  burden ;  but  a  child  knows 
too  well  that  Jimmy  who  has  just  turned  his 
head  is  in  a  broad  grin,  and  that  the  snicker 
which  he  distinctly  heard  a  moment  ago  in  the 
direction  of  the  big  boy  in  the  class  foretells 
innumerable  woes  that  will  befall  him  when  he 
is  on  the  street  again.  But  should  not  a  child 
be  taught  that  he  should  confess  Christ  in  spite 
of  persecution  ?  Certainly ;  but  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  confession  ;  it  is  a  matter  of  decision 
— the  decision  that  precedes  confession.  When 
he  has  once  decided  for  Christ  the  big  boy's 
snicker  will  be  shorn  of  at  least  half  its  terrors. 


Other  Teaching  Points  nc 

You  have  learned  that  if  you  want  to  get  two 
people  to  love  each  other  you  need  to  be  as  wise 
as  a  serpent  and  as  harmless  as  a  dove.     What- 
ever you  do  you  will  not  do  in  public.     Would 
you— unless  you   were  a  foolish,   tormenting 
tease — talk  to  a  boy  in  the  presence  of  his  com- 
panions about  his  love,  or  his  lack  of  love,  for 
his  mother,  or  his  sister,  or  even  somebody  else's 
sister  ?    I  know  that  children  as  well  as  men 
have  been  singled  out  in  the  great  congregation 
and  won  for  Christ  while  a  hundred  pairs  of 
eyes  were  looking  curiously  on ;  but  I  also  know 
that  when  others  have  been  thus  approached 
their  hearts  have  shut  up  like  oysters  and  they 
have  experienced  a  revulsion  of  feeling  towards 
religion  that  has  remained  with  them  until  this 
day.     It  may  sometimes  be  necessary  to  run 
this  risk  in  the  case  of  a  man  who  vf  ill  be  out 
of  your  reach  the  moment  he  passes  out  of  the 
church  door,  but  it  is  not  necessary  in  the  case 
of  a  Sunday-school  pupil.     The  teacher  who 
appeals  to  his  pupils  personally  before  the  class 
on  the  ground  that  he  has  no  other  time  in 
which  to  win  souls  is  evidently  too  busy  to  be 
a  Sunday-school  teacher.     I  would  not  run  the 
risk  of  spoiling  all  my  work  that  way.    I  would 
watch  my  pupils  and  whenever  I  saw,  by  look- 
ing into  the  eyes  of  a  child,  that  the  way  to  his 
heart  was  open,  I  would  find  the  time  to  talk 
to  him  alone.     And  I  would  find  it  quickly.     I 


Ii6    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

would  take  a  long  walk  with  him  in  the  fields 
that  very  afternoon,  and  in  the  hallowed  Sab- 
bath quiet  I  would  help  him,  God  helping  us 
both,  to  settle  that  question  forever. 

16.  It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  translate 
the  Bible  into  the  terms  of  our  twentieth  century 
life  ;  to  get  down  beneath  its  Oriental  covering 
and  find  its  very  soul — its  essential  teaching — 
and  to  present  it  to  the  pupil  in  such  language 
as  he  can  understand,  applying  it  not  to  the 
Israelites  or  the  Ammonites  of  old,  but  to  the 
pupil's  own  heart  and  life. 

17.  It  is  well  enough  for  a  teacher  to  call  a 
spade  a  spade,  but  it  is  never  necessary  for  him 
to  call  a  simpleton  a  simpleton.  It  is  one  thing 
to  be  frank ;  it  is  another  thing  to  be  brutally 
blunt. 

18.  One  Sunday-school  teacher  is  all  sun- 
shine and  wins ;  another,  having  no  sunshine  in 
his  soul,  undertakes  to  keep  his  class  merry 
with  stale  jokes,  and  wonders  why  he  does  not 
succeed.  It  is  the  difference  between  being 
whitewashed  and  washed  white. 

19.  It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  adapt  his 
teaching  to  the  needs  of  his  pupils,  but  he  ought 
not  to  say  anything  in  class  that  would  cause 
a  pupil  to  feel  that  he  was  "hitting  at  him." 
That  sort  of  thing  never  does  any  good  and  often 
does  a  great  deal  of  harm. 


XXI 

HOW  TO  KEEP  THE  PUPILS  INTEEESTED 

IT  is  not  an  easy  problem  but  I  am  persuaded 
that  it  would  not  be  as  hard  as  many  of  us 
have  found  it  if  we  were  not  always  trying 
to  solve  it  backwards.  It  is  strange  that  we 
should  be  continually  asking  what  will  keep  our 
pupils  interested,  and  never  think  to  ask  what 
will  keep  the  teacher  interesting.  For  here, 
after  all,  is  the  secret  of  permanent  interest  in 
a  class.  The  thing  that  is  needed  to  interest 
pupils  is  not  an  interesting  occasion,  or  an 
interesting  lesson,  or  an  interesting  story,  or  an 
interesting  picture,  but  simply  and  solely  an 
interesting  teacher.  An  interesting  teacher  will 
make  an  occasion,  a  lesson,  a  story,  a  picture  or 
anything  else  under  the  sun  interesting.  An 
uninteresting  teacher  dulls  the  interest  that  may 
already  exist  in  whatever  he  takes  in  hand. 

Nearly  all  the  methods  ever  invented  to 
awaken  the  interest  of  pupils  are  worthless  be- 
cause they  are  the  result  of  taking  hold  of  this 
problem  at  the  wrong  end.  They  are  purely 
artificial,  like  our  much  advertised  methods  for 
aiding  the  memory,  and  they  are  not  one  whit 
more  successful.  We  may  work  up  a  mo- 
117 


1 18    Secrets  of  Sunday- School  Teaching 

mentary  interest  by  an  artifice,  but  the  per- 
manent interest  of  the  pupils  cannot  be  secured 
in  this  way.  Only  a  permanently  interesting 
teacher  can  permanently  interest  his  pupils. 

What  can  a  teacher  do  to  make  himself  in- 
teresting to  his  pupils?  Did  you  ever  notice 
how  some  young  girls  try  to  make  themselves 
interesting  on  entering  society  ?  One  goes 
to  work  to  gather  together  a  fund  of  interest- 
ing stories.  Another  searches  an  encyclopedia 
of  wit  and  humour  for  bright  sayings.  Another, 
too  indolent  for  either  of  these  efforts,  depends 
upon  gush — artificial  gush.  Another  walks  out 
upon  the  carpet  with  a  year's  supply  of  imported 
smiles.  You  know  how  well,  or  how  ill,  these 
things  work.  But  here  is  another  girl  who 
has  somehow  learned  that  it  is  not  that  which 
we  gather  from  without  but  that  which  we  de- 
velop within  that  makes  us  interesting,  and  she 
goes  to  work  to  develop  herself — her  mind  and 
her  heart.  She  seeks  the  broadest  culture, 
without  which  it  is  impossible  to  have  perfect 
sympathy  with  all  men ;  without  which  she  can- 
not get  en  rapport  with  all  men.  She  finds  a 
little  sweetness  of  disposition  in  her  nature  and 
she  goes  to  work  to  develop  that.  She  forms 
the  habit  of  interesting  herself  in  people,  of 
sympathizing  with  people.  She  keeps  her  eyes 
wide  open  watching  for  opportunities  to  lend  a 
helping  hand,   by   which  her   humanity — her 


How  to  Keep  the  Pupils  Interested     1 19 

humanness — is  daily  broadened.  She  studiously 
cultivates  the  art  of  thinking  about  people  until 
people  become  the  most  interesting  things  in  the 
world  to  her ;  and  when  they  become  the  most 
interesting  things  in  the  world  to  her  she  is 
pretty  apt  to  become  the  most  interesting  girl 
in  the  world  to  at  least  some  people. 

It  is  by  the  same  method  that  a  teacher 
must  become  interesting  to  his  pupils.  Have 
you  a  class  of  girls  ?  Go  to  work  to  learn  girls. 
Cultivate  the  habit  of  thinking  about  girls. 
Look  for  them  on  the  street — everywhere. 
Live  as  far  as  you  can  in  the  girl  world.  Learn 
not  only  the  ways  of  girls — their  ways  do  not 
mean  a  great  deal — but  learn  what  they  think 
and  feel ;  learn  not  so  much  what  they  do  as 
what  they  intend  to  do  or  would  like  to  do. 
You  cannot  judge  a  girl  by  her  actions.  It  is 
not  often  that  she  does  what  she  intends  to 
do — not  often  that  she  knows  why  she  does  a 
thing  at  all.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  thinking  of 
girls  until  a  girl  becomes  the  most  interesting 
thing  in  the  world,  just  because  she  is  a  girl — 
interesting  whether  she  is  pretty  or  ugly,  good 
mannered  or  bad  mannered,  neat  or  slovenly. 
You  may  be  sure  that  when  a  girl  has  come  to 
be  the  most  interesting  thing  in  the  world  to 
you  it  will  not  be  long  before  you  will  become 
the  most  interesting  teacher  in  the  world  to 
your  girls. 


120    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

Have  you  a  class  of  boys  ?  Learn  boys. 
Katber,  learn  as  much  of  them  as  you  can.  Go 
every  day  to  Boy  ville.  Form  the  habit  of  look- 
ing straight  into  the  eyes,  not  critically  but 
sympathetically,  of  every  boy  you  meet.  If 
you  find  nothing  good  in  those  eyes  don't  try 
any  longer.  Turn  your  class  over  to  the 
superintendent  and  try  a  class  of  girls.  You 
have  no  business  with  boys  if  you  see  nothing 
good  in  them.  Get  acquainted  with  boys — 
not  only  your  boys  but  other  people's  boys. 
Form  the  habit  of  interesting  yourself  in 
every  boy  you  meet  regardless  of  the  sort  of 
boy.  Interest  yourself  in  him  simply  because 
he  is  a  boy.  When  the  time  comes  that  a  boy 
shall  be  the  most  interesting  thing  in  the  world 
to  you  there  will  be  some  boys  at  least  in  your 
class  who  will  regard  you  as  the  most  interest- 
ing teacher  in  the  world. 

I  do  not  mean  that  when  you  find  yourself 
in  sympathy  with  your  pupils  you  will  have 
nothing  to  do  to  keep  them  interested.  You 
should  be  in  such  sympathy  with  them  that  you 
will  always  be  doing  something  to  interest 
them.  You  will  study  them  so  thoroughly  and 
you  will  study  your  lesson  so  thoroughly  that 
it  will  be  almost  impossible  for  you  to  bore 
them. 

You  have  noticed  that  there  are  some  teach- 
ers who  are  very  dry  and  uninteresting  because 


How  to  Keep  the  Pupils  Interested     1 2 1 

they  have  grown  up  with  very  narrow  or 
partial  views  of  the  truth  given  them  to  teach. 
It  is  surprising  how  many  teachers  there  are 
whose  narrow  views  of  the  Christian  life  utterly 
disqualify  them  for  their  work.  No  teacher 
can  be  interesting  and  be  narrow.  That  is 
why  I  have  said  that  a  teacher  to  be  interest- 
ing must  go  to  work  to  develop  himself.  He 
must  acquire  breadth  of  view.  Here  is  a  man 
who  has  a  reputation  for  business  integrity. 
He  is  very  proud  of  his  good  name  in  the 
community.  Talk  with  him  and  you  will  find 
that  in  his  mind  religion  is  summed  up  in  one 
word — honesty.  To  him  the  most  highly  de- 
veloped Christian  is  the  man  who  has  the 
highest  sense  of  business  honour.  JSTothing 
else  appeals  to  him.  This  man  neglects  most 
of  the  means  of  grace  and  does  scores  of  things 
a  Christian  ought  not  to  do  and  yet  he  is  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  his  attainments  in  grace 
because  of  his  unquestioned  business  integrity. 
This  man  is  as  dry  a  teacher  as  you  will  come 
across  in  a  dry  season.  There  is  never  any- 
thing to  talk  about  in  the  lesson  unless  there  is 
something  to  suggest  a  discussion  about  busi- 
ness integrity.  And  it  is  the  same  old  sermon 
year  in  and  year  out.  It  is  enough  to  make  a 
healthy  boy  hate  honesty.  Here  is  a  good 
woman  who  has  summed  up  religion  in  another 
word.     It  is  temperance.     Temperance  is  her 


122    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

hobby.  Temperance  is  the  thing  on  which  she 
gets  intoxicated.  She  is  always  in  a  state  of 
intoxication.  To  this  good  woman  every  lesson 
is  a  temperance  lesson.  It  matters  not  where 
it  begins  it  always  ends  in  temperance.  And 
it  is  the  same  old  thing  Sunday  after  Sunday. 
I  wonder  that  her  boys  do  not  grow  up  drunk- 
ards for  very  spite.  Any  one-sided  or  partial 
view  of  truth  continually  presented  becomes 
tiresome.  The  teacher  who  seeks  to  be  inter- 
esting will  shun  narrow  and  partial  views.  He 
will  go  to  work  to  get  at  the  whole  truth.  He 
will  seek  that  larger  view  of  religion  which 
will  fairly  burden  him  with  its  richness  and 
breadth  so  that  when  he  goes  to  his  class  his 
great  difficulty  will  be  not  to  keep  from  teach- 
ing the  same  thing,  but  to  keep  from  trying  to 
teach  too  many  things. 


XXII 
THE  SECEET  OF  GOOD  OEDER 

WHAT  is  good  order  ?  Perhaps  some 
of  us  would  have  less  difficulty  in 
keeping  order  in  our  classes  if  we 
had  a  clearer  idea  of  what  good  order  means. 
Did  you  ever  walk  through  a  great  mill  at  the 
close  of  the  day  after  the  operatives  had  all 
gone?  Look  at  those  long  rows  of  spindles. 
How  regular  they  are  !  How  orderly  !  How 
quiet !  You  can  hear  a  pin  drop.  Here  is 
perfect  order,  you  say.  Well,  yes  :  the  order 
of  death.  But  that  is  not  the  kind  of  order 
you  want  in  your  Sunday-school  class.  I  have 
seen  classes  of  that  sort — classes  in  which  the 
teacher  had  spent  all  of  his  time  in  quieting 
his  pupils  into  silent  rows  of  spindles — silent 
spindles  which  receive  nothing,  produce  noth- 
ing. Did  you  ever  walk  through  that  same 
mill  in  the  early  morning  after  the  wheels  had 
started  ?  There  are  the  endless  rows  of  spin- 
dles in  the  same  regular  order  that  they  were 
before.  But  in  every  spindle  there  is  life. 
And  there  is  the  sound  of  life  ;  not  the  jarring 
sound  of  something  out  of  order,  but  a  healthy 
hum — the  hum  that  is  music  to  the  ear  of  the 
123 


1 24    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

master  machinist  who  knows  that  all  is  well. 
This  is  the  kind  of  order  you  want  in  your 
Sunday-school :  you  want  every  pupil  in  his 
place  and  about  his  business.  You  do  not  want 
a  row  of  silent  pupils  like  idle  machines,  nor  do 
you  want  to  hear  a  noise  as  of  something  out 
of  order;  but  you  want  a  row  of  pupils  in 
each  of  whom  there  is  life — enough  life  to  send 
forth  a  healthy  hum.  Don't  aim  at  absolute 
silence  in  your  class.  Don't  aim  at  death ;  aim 
at  life. 

The  wise  teacher  has  learned  that  there  are 
two  great  secrets  of  good  order.  The  first  is 
good  order  in  the  teacher  himself.  ]S"ow  don't 
turn  red  in  the  face.  I  am  not  going  to  be  too 
personal.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  there  are 
thousands  of  teachers  who  have  never  learned 
how  to  keep  order  themselves.  There  are 
thousands  of  teachers  who  create  such  a  dis- 
turbance in  trying  to  maintain  order  that  their 
pupils  are  tempted  to  answer  back,  "Why 
don't  you  be  still  yourself  ?  "  To  be  orderly 
one  must  have  one's  self  well  in  hand.  And  it 
is  not  every  teacher  who  has  himself  well  in 
hand.  Disorder  breeds  disorder,  but  disorder 
in  a  teacher  breeds  ten  times  as  much  disorder 
as  disorder  in  a  pupil.  There  are  teachers 
whose  very  attitude  when  they  meet  the  class 
is  an  invitation  to  disorder.  All  noise  is  not 
disorder  and  all  disorder  is  not  noise.     We  have 


The  Secret  of  Good  Order         125 

good  order  in  a  class  when  things  are  done  in 
an  orderly  way  ;  when  the  right  thing  is  done 
at  the  right  time ;  when  each  pupil  is  attending 
to  the  duty  of  the  moment  and  not  to  some- 
thing else.  Disorder  is  the  result  of  attending 
to  something  else,  and  it  is  a  painful  fact  that 
the  average  teacher  is  just  as  apt  to  wander 
from  the  matter  at  hand  and  attend  to  some- 
thing else  as  the  average  pupil.  I  have  seen 
teachers  who  were  so  anxious  to  keep  order  that 
they  would  never  give  their  attention  to  the 
lesson  more  than  half  a  minute  at  a  time.  They 
would  turn  to  the  lesson,  and  before  the  atten- 
tion of  the  pupils  could  be  gained  they  would 
allow  their  own  attention  to  be  drawn  off  by 
any  "passing  trifle.  "  Now,  children,  let  us  see 
what  the  lesson  is  about.  John,  put  your  feet 
down.  What  is  the  lesson  about,  Mary  ?  By 
the  way,  Mary,  were  you  here  last  Sunday  ? 
What  is  the  golden  text  ?  Did  I  ask  you  the 
last  question,  Sallie  ?  What  was  the  last  les- 
son about  ?  Oh  !  didn't  I  ask  that  question  be- 
fore? I  wonder  why  the  library  isn't  open 
this  morning.  Don't  you  know  what  the 
lesson  is  about?  Mary,  what  are  you  and 
Sallie  so  deeply  interested  in?"  And  so  it 
goes  on  and  on,  until  the  signal  bell  rings,  and 
the  poor  teacher  cannot  for  the  life  of  her  un- 
derstand why  there  is  so  much  disorder  in  her 
class.    I  visited  a  Sunday-school  in  which  the 


1 26    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

disorder  during  the  singing  fairly  drowned  the 
singing,  and  I  noticed  that  two-thirds  of  the 
teachers  were  engaged  in  conversation  with 
their  pupils.  Kemember,  a  teacher  is  disor- 
derly whenever  he  turns  the  attention  from  the 
matter  in  hand. 

The  other  great  secret  of  order  is  in  securing 
and  holding  the  attention  of  the  pupils.  Did 
you  ever  know  a  pupil  to  be  disorderly  while 
he  was  intent  upon  what  you  were  saying? 
He  may  not  sit  up  straight ;  his  feet  may  not 
be  placed  at  proper  angles  on  the  floor ;  but  he 
is  not  disorderly.  If  you  could  get  all  the 
pupils  in  your  class  to  be  intent  upon  what  you 
were  saying  would  you  not  have  perfect  order? 
Children  are  like  ponies.  If  you  will  hold  a 
pony  firmly  by  the  bridle  he  will  stand  per- 
fectly still — as  a  rule.  It  is  the  firm  hold,  not 
the  uncertain  hold,  that  keeps  him  still.  If 
you  tug  at  the  bridle  one  moment  and  let  it 
fall  lax  the  next,  if  the  bridle  slips  from  your 
hand,  he  is  not  likely  to  be  still.  And  if  you 
pull  the  bridle  off  his  head  he  will  be  gone  in  a 
flash.  If  you  will  keep  a  child  interested  every 
moment  you  will  hold  him  as  safely  as  if  you 
had  a  bridle  on  him ;  but  if  you  make  an  effort 
at  attention  now  and  then,  if  you  relax  your 
hold  now  and  then,  if  you  let  him  go  altogether 
with  the  intention  of  securing  his  attention 
again  after  a  while,  he  will  be  off  in  a  flash. 


The  Secret  of  Good  Order         127 

And  the  moment  he  is  off  he  will  be  out  of 
order ;  he  will  be  a  creator  of  disorder.  The 
great  secret  is  to  gain  the  attention  of  your 
pupils  at  the  beginning  and  to  require  yourself 
to  hold  their  attention  to  the  end.  I  do  not 
mean  at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson  but  from 
the  moment  you  take  your  seat  in  the  class. 
One  reason  why  it  is  difficult  to  secure  order 
during  the  lesson  is  because  we  so  often  allow 
disorder  up  to  the  moment  the  lesson  begins. 
The  only  safe  rule  is  to  require  order  from  the 
beginning,  and  to  do  this  the  teacher  should  be, 
if  possible,  the  first  to  reach  the  class  room. 

^*  How  can  I  hold  the  attention  of  my  pupils 
during  the  time  when  there  is  nothing  to  do  ?  " 
There  is  no  time  in  which  there  is  nothing  to 
do.  If  you  have  not  found  something  to 
occupy  every  moment  of  the  Sunday-school 
hour  go  and  find  it,  and  if  you  have  any  spare 
moments  left  ask  your  superintendent  to  help 
you  fill  them.  One  of  the  greatest  problems  of 
the  progressive  teacher  is  to  find  enough  min- 
utes in  the  Sunday-school  hour  to  do  all  the 
work  he  has  planned  to  do. 

"  But  there  are  some  duties  which  the  teacher 
must  attend  to  which  do  not  directly  concern 
his  pupils.  How,  for  instance,  can  I  keep  my 
class  quiet  while  I  am  making  out  my  reports  ?  " 
Why,  bless  you,  have  your  pupils  help  you 
make  them  out.     I  would  do  it  somewhat  in 


128    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

this  way :  "  Kow,  children,  we  are  going  to  put 
ourselves  on  record  in  this  book.  Let  us  see. 
Were  we  all  present  on  time  this  morning  ?  " 
And  while  their  minds  are  occupied  with  your 
question  iill  in  your  attendance  column  and 
your  tardy  column.  "Did  we  all  know  our 
lesson  this  morning?"  And  while  they  are 
thinking  over  this  matter  set  down  the  lesson 
percentages.  And  so  on.  Make  it  a  rule  never 
to  have  anything  to  do  during  the  Sunday- 
school  hour  apart  from  your  pupils.  Do  not 
allow  yourself  to  separate  yourself  from  them 
either  bodily  or  mentally  for  a  moment.  Be 
one  with  them.  Stay  with  them  in  person,  in 
thought,  in  heart,  in  interest ;  and  in  all  likeli- 
hood they  will  stay  with  you. 


XXIII 
COMMON  SENSE  IN  TEACHING 

IT  is  not  the  knowledge  one  acquires  but  the 
knowledge  that  one  uses  that  is  worth 
while.  To  make  use  of  what  you  learn, 
one  thing  is  absolutely  necessary.  That  one 
thing  is  common  sense.  I  know  that  most  of 
us  feel  that  we  are  not  lacking  in  this  particular, 
but  I  also  know  that  most  of  us  are  too  well 
satisfied  to  believe  we  have  common  sense 
while  neglecting  to  put  it  into  practice.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  if  we  have  it  in  any  marked  de- 
gree we  will  put  it  into  practice.  We  must  put 
it  into  practice  if  our  knowledge  of  any  sort  is 
ever  to  be  worth  anything  to  us.  And  no- 
where in  the  world,  it  seems  to  me,  does  one 
need  to  bring  one's  common  sense  into  practice 
oftener  than  in  the  Sunday-school  class. 

Let  me  illustrate :  If  there  is  too  much  in  a 
lesson  to  be  taught  in  the  lesson  half  hour,  I 
would  not  try  to  crowd  it  in ;  I  would  select  a 
part  of  it  for  comprehensive  treatment  and 
devote  the  time  to  that.  And  I  would  spend 
the  time  in  teaching  the  things  that  we  under- 
stand, not  in  discussing  to  no  profit  the  things 
129 


130    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

which  have  been  discussed  to  no  profit  for  a 
thousand  years.  Again,  if  I  were  teaching  a 
temperance  lesson,  I  would  not  spend,  or  mis- 
spend, the  precious  moments  telling  tear-com- 
pelling stories  of  homes  ruined  and  hearts 
broken  and  hungry  children  in  rags  as  a  result 
of  intemperance.  One  may  force  from  little 
children  a  bucketful  of  tears  without  getting 
into  their  minds  a  single  helpful  thought.  It 
is  better  to  leave  our  own  stock  of  stories  at 
home  and  give  the  whole  hour  to  the  picture 
which  the  lesson  furnishes.  We  may  rest  as- 
sured that  no  picture  of  our  own  making  will  be 
more  lifelike  or  more  convincing. 

Yet,  again,  I  would  not  try  to  explain  that 
which  no  child  can  understand.  For  instance, 
when  you  have  a  lesson  on  the  deluge,  a  pupil, 
who  has  seen  in  so-called  Bible  story  books 
blood-curdling  pictures  of  mothers  with  babes 
in  their  arms  drowning  in  the  flood,  will  want 
to  know  how  God  could  have  done  such  a  thing. 
Now  one  might  give  a  satisfactory  answer  on 
this  point  to  a  mature  mind,  but  one  cannot  ex- 
plain it  to  a  child,  and  one  had  better  not  at- 
tempt it.  I  would  rather  say  to  the  pupil  : 
"  Well,  that  is  the  way  it  looks  at  a  distance, 
but  don't  you  suppose  if  we  had  been  there  and 
understood  it  all  we  would  not  have  thought  of 
charging  God  with  wrong  in  the  matter  ? " 
And  then  I  would  recall  some  things  which  the 


Common  Sense  in  Teaching        131 

Scriptures  tell  us  which  show  the  goodness  of 
God  and  His  love  for  little  children. 

When  the  lesson  is  an  account  of  an  event  I 
would  picture  the  scene,  and  I  would  make  it 
my  chief  business  to  keep  the  picture  before  my 
pupils.  I  would  avoid  introducing  any  unneces- 
sary outside  material.  I  would  not  indulge  in 
excursions.  For  instance,  if  the  story  is  about 
blind  Bartimeus,  I  w^ould  not  dwell  at  length 
on  other  cases  of  blindness  in  the  Bible,  nor 
upon  the  prevalence  of  blindness  in  the  East. 
I  would  not  introduce  any  incidents  by  way  of 
illustration.  The  lesson  is  the  best  illustration 
we  can  find  to  teach  the  lesson  it  is  intended  to 
teach.  I  would  first  make  the  pupils  see  Bar- 
timeus. They  should  not  only  realize  his  help- 
lessness, but  the  state  of  his  mind.  While 
others  see  in  Jesus  a  prophet  of  Nazareth,  he 
sees  the  Messiah.  When  I  had  succeeded  in 
getting  Bartimeus  before  them  I  would  try  to 
make  them  see  Jesus.  I  would  open  up  His 
heart  to  them,  and  I  would  try  to  make  them 
see  Him  as  Bartimeus  stands  before  Him.  It 
will  hardly  be  necessary  to  moralize  upon  the 
lesson  at  all  if  one  can  get  his  pupils  to  see  the 
picture. 

Common  sense  as  well  as  God's  law  requires 
us  to  be  perfectly  honest  with  our  pupils.  A 
great  many  teachers  are  not  honest  in  their 
teaching.     They  don't  mean  to  be  dishonest, 


132    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

yet  they  do  not  hesitate  to  take  advantage  of 
the  ignorance  of  their  pupils.  For  instance,  as 
I  have  said  before,  many  an  intelligent  teacher 
has  used  the  account  of  the  beheading  of  John 
the  Baptist  as  a  lesson  against  the  evils  of  the 
modern  dance,  when  every  intelligent  teacher 
knows  that  it  can  be  fairly  quoted  only  as  a 
warning  against  witnessing  lewd  performances. 
We  never  gain  anything  by  trying  to  teach  a 
practical  lesson  from  a  text  that  does  not  teach 
it,  although  it  may  be  taught  in  other  parts  of 
the  Bible.  The  smallest  boy  in  the  class  will 
be  quick  to  recognize  the  difference  between  the 
solitary  dance  of  the  indecent  Salome  and  the 
modern  dances  in  which  the  sexes  mingle,  and 
we  cannot  safely  point  to  the  one  as  a  warning 
against  the  other.  The  lesson  is  a  warning 
against  witnessing  indecent  performances  of 
every  sort,  and  if  the  teacher  would  speak  of 
the  evils  of  the  ballroom  he  should  make  it 
plain  that  he  does  not  draw  his  lesson  from 
Herod's  banquet. 


XXIY 
HONESTY  IN  TEACHING 

WHAT  are  we  trying  to  teach  ?  Are 
we  teaching  what  we  really  believe 
to  be  true  or  only  what  we  are  sup- 
posed to  believe  is  true  ?  Are  we  sure  of  our 
ground?  Do  we  teach  things  to-day  which 
may  have  to  be  untaught  to-morrow  ?  Take 
for  instance  the  matter  of  prayer.  When  we 
teach  our  pupils  about  prayer  do  we  teach  only 
that  which  will  stand  the  test  ?  Or  do  we  tell 
them  things  which  they  will  find  out  when  they 
are  older  are  not  true  ?  Here  is  John  Jones  in 
the  senior  class  turning  up  his  nose.  What  is  the 
matter  with  John  ?  Why,  John's  teacher,  when 
he  was  a  little  fellow,  taught  him  that  all  he  had 
to  do  when  he  wanted  anything  was  to  ask  God 
for  it,  believing  that  he  would  receive  it,  and  he 
would  surely  get  it.  Johnny  tried  it  and  it 
didn't  work.  To-day  you  can't  get  him  to  listen 
to  anything  about  prayer :  he  is  too  busy  turn- 
ing up  his  nose.  A  dishonest  teacher — a  teacher 
who  taught  what  she  knew  was  not  true — has 
done  the  work  and  she  has  turned  out  a  horrible 
job.  It  is  an  awful  thing  to  make  promises  for 
God  which  He  never  authorized  us  to  make. 
133 


134    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

God  has  nowhere  told  us  that  all  we  need  to  do 
when  we  want  anything  is  to  go  to  Him  in  faith 
and  we  shall  have  it.  He  has  promised  to 
answer  prayer  in  His  own  way  and  in  His  own 
time  under  certain  conditions,  and  you  and  I 
who  speak  for  Him  have  no  right  to  teach  a 
pupil  that  God  answers  prayer  without  clearly 
stating  the  conditions  and  explaining  what  is 
meant  by  answering  prayer.  I  do  not  know 
anything  about  which  we  do  so  much  loose 
thinking  and  about  which  we  say  so  many 
senseless  things  that  we  don't  believe  as  this 
matter  of  prayer.  And  our  loose  thinking  and 
pious  twaddle  are  doing  untold  damage.  When 
you  shake  a  man's  faith  in  a  prayer-answering 
God  you  shake  him  to  the  foundations,  and  his 
faith  will  inevitably  be  shaken  if  you  give  him 
a  false  picture  of  God  at  the  beginning — a 
picture  that  will  not  stand  the  test  in  after  life. 
God  answers  prayer,  but  He  may  not  choose  to 
answer  it  in  the  way  we  think  He  ought  to 
answer  it,  or  at  the  time  our  little  wildly  tick- 
ing watches  call  for  an  answer,  and  He  certainly 
will  not  answer  at  all  if  we  do  not  fulfill  the 
conditions  which  He  has  laid  down. 

A  poor  woman  comes  to  me  for  bread.  I  go 
down  town  and  secure  a  position  for  her  as  a 
seamstress.  The  next  day  she  comes  to  me 
again.  "Did  I  not  do  what  you  wanted  me 
to  do?"  I  ask.     "But  I  didn't  want  work," 


Honesty  in  Teaching  135 

whines  the  poor  thing ;  "  I  wanted  bread." 
Do  you  think  I  will  go  to  the  baker  and 
send  her  a  ready-made  loaf  ?  And  yet  have 
I  not  answered  her  prayer  ?  "  Give  me  this  day 
my  daily  bread,"  cries  lazy  Jake.  God  has 
given  lazy  Jake  a  little  piece  of  land  out  in  the 
mountains — given  it  to  him  through  his  father 
— and  He  has  given  him  all  the  health  and 
muscle  and  mind  he  needs,  and  as  much  sun- 
shine and  rain  as  He  has  given  anybody  else, 
and  the  little  farm  is  all  grown  up  in  weeds  and 
lazy  Jake  is  still  wearing  holes  in  his  trousers 
at  the  knees  asking  God  for  his  daily  bread. 
Will  God  send  him  a  loaf  from  the  bakery  to 
convince  him  that  He  answers  prayer  ?  "  The 
Lord  has  been  feeding  me  these  thirty  years," 
said  old  Tom  Twaddle  at  the  prayer-meeting, 
"  and  I  never  have  to  worry  a  minute  about  my 
daily  bread.  I  just  trust  Him  and  praise  His 
name  and  somehow  the  bread  always  comes." 
But  everybody  knew  that  the  Lord  had  been 
caring  for  old  Tom  all  along  through  a  faithful 
wife  who  for  thirty  years  had  kept  a  boarding- 
house  to  keep  the  lazy  rascal  from  starving. 

If  God  in  answer  to  my  prayer  for  bread 
gives  me  the  ability  to  make  bread,  and  I 
refuse  to  use  the  ability  given  me,  and  continue 
to  cry  for  bread,  I  may  cry  till  the  crack  of 
doom  and  there  will  be  no  answer.  When  in 
un  ugly  mood  my  child  cast  away  the  piece  of 


136    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

bread  his  mother  gave  him  and  demanded  cake 
did  he  get  it  ?  God  is  infinite  in  mercy  but  He 
does  not  humour  our  childishness. 

But  suppose  I  do  my  best  with  the  means 
God  has  given  me,  or  suppose  I  have  become 
helpless  and  can  no  longer  make  my  bread? 
Then,  if  I  recognize  God  as  my  Father — if  I 
love  Him  as  a  Father,  and  treat  Him  as  a  Father 
— I  can  go  to  Him  with  perfect  confidence  that 
He  will  give  me  not  everything  that  I  may  ask 
for,  but  everything  that  I  ought  to  have.  In 
other  words,  I  can  go  to  Him  with  the  assur- 
ance that  He  will  treat  me  as  His  child.  If  I 
am  God's  child  He  is  not  going  to  give  me 
everything  I  ask  for,  but  He  is  going  to  answer 
my  prayer  according  to  His  will  and  it  is  not 
His  will  to  ruin  His  children  by  giving  them 
things  they  ought  not  to  have. 


XXV 

IF  YOUE  PUPILS  ARE  TO  BE  LIKE 
CHEIST 

IT  is  a  lifetime  study — a  lifetime  apprentice- 
ship—this art  of  helping  one's  pupils  to 
attain  unto  the  image  of  Christ.  The  sculp- 
tor who  ceases  to  learn  his  art  ceases  to  live ;  the 
teacher  who  ceases  to  learn  his  art  ceases  to  live. 
Yet  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  art  of  molding 
clay  or  chiselling  marble  is  wholly  like  the  art 
of  molding  character.^  The  order  of  develop- 
ment is  not  altogether  the  same.  For  instance, 
the  artist  must  first  fall  in  love  with  his  art, 
while  the  teacher  must  first  fall  in  love  with  his 
pattern.  The  artist  may  have  many  patterns 
in  a  lifetime ;  the  teacher  will  have  but  one. 

Your  first  business  then  is  with  the  pattern 
that  has  been  given  you — Jesus  Christ.  If  you 
are  to  mold  your  pupils  into  the  image  of  Christ 
you  must  first  become  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  that  image.  You  must  know  Christ.  In 
other  words,  you  must  have  a  clear,  strong,  defi- 
nite vision  of  the  image  which  you  are  expected 
to  copy.  If  an  artist  tries  to  mold  an  image 
that  is  yet  but  imperfectly  formed  in  his  mind 

See  page  14. 
137 


138    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

he  will  fail.  The  success  of  his  work  depends 
largely  upon  the  distinctness  of  his  vision.  First, 
then,  you  want  a  clearly  defined  vision  of 
Christ.  You  want  to  see  Him  not  only  as  the 
Divine  One,  but  as  the  perfect  man.  You  want 
to  know  Him  not  only  as  a  personal  Saviour, 
but  as  a  personal  friend. 

Let  me  be  perfectly  frank  about  this  matter. 
If  you  do  not  know  Christ  you  are  not  going  to 
do  anything  worth  while.  I  am  not  exagger- 
ating. The  idea  that  a  man  or  woman  can 
teach  a  Sunday-school  class  as  it  is  intended  to 
be  taught,  simply  because  he  or  she  is  intelligent, 
or  talented,  or  has  had  a  course  in  pedagogy,  is 
sheer  nonsense.  I  do  not  care  how  intelligent 
or  talented  an  artist  may  be;  he  may  know 
everything  that  is  knowable ;  he  may  be  a 
veritable  wizard  with  his  fingers ;  but  as  a  rule 
if  he  tries  to  mold  or  carve  an  image  that  has 
not  become  clearly  defined  before  him — if  he 
tries  to  mold  something  which  is  as  yet  con- 
fused in  his  mind's  eye — he  will  fail.  I  am 
aware  that  this  illustration  is  very  imperfect, 
for  the  teacher  is  not  limited  in  this  matter  as 
narrowly  as  the  artist,  but  generally  speaking 
it  is  true  that  nothing  else  will  avail  if  there  is 
no  clearness  of  vision.  The  only  thing  for  an 
artist  to  do  when  his  vision  is  indistinct  is  to 
drop  his  chisel  or  brush  and  look  after  the  im- 
age that  is  forming  in  his  mind.     And  as  a  rule 


If  Your  Pupils  Are  to  be  Like  Christ    139 

the  only  thing  for  a  teacher  to  do,  who  has  at- 
tempted to  teach  his  pupils  while  the  image  of 
Christ  is  as  yet  indistinct  before  him,  is  to  drop 
everything  and  look  after  the  image  that  has 
been  set  before  him. 

Take  your  Bible  and  look  yourself  in  your 
room.  Forget  that  you  are  a  teacher.  Forget 
that  there  are  pupils  waiting  to  be  taught. 
Open  your  Bible  at  Matthew.  Kead  Matthew 
to-day — not  a  chapter,  but  the  whole  book; 
read  Mark  to-morrow  and  Luke  the  third  day 
and  John  the  day  after.  Go  back  to  Matthew 
again  and  read  these  Gospels  over  and  over 
again  until  you  have  been  thoroughly  saturated 
with  them.  Don't  study  them  ;  don't  analyze 
them ;  read  them.  Absorb  them.  Drink  them 
in.  You  don't  want  to  get  at  the  meaning  of  this 
or  that  point ;  you  want  to  take  in  the  whole 
picture.  By  and  by  you  will  have  the  vision  of 
Christ  in  these  Gospels  like  that  of  the  yet  im- 
perfectly restored  blind  man  who  could  see 
men  only  as  trees  walking.  But  read  on,  and 
while  you  read  let  your  heart  cry  out  to  God : 
"  Lord,  show  me  Thy  Son." 

Open  your  heart  to  God  about  this  matter. 
Tell  Him  that  you  want  to  know  Christ — not 
that  you  may  teach  your  pupils  about  Him  but 
that  you  may  receive  Him ;  that  you  may  be 
one  with  Him;  that  you  may  breathe  His 
spirit ;  that  you  may  be  like  Him.    Keep  your 


140    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

heart  wide  open  before  Christ — ^ready  to  re- 
ceive every  word  He  speaks ;  ready  to  do  what- 
ever He  may  require.  Read  and  pray  and  read 
again.  Then  sit  still  before  Him.  Sit  still 
until  you  can  hear  your  heart  beat,  and  then 
quiet  your  heart.  Be  still  before  God  and  wait. 
Wait  before  Him  in  an  attitude  of  perfect  sur- 
render to  Him.  Wait  until  every  thought  of 
your  own  passes  out  of  your  mind,  and  every 
disturbing  sound  is  lost  in  the  distance,  and  you 
sit  with  open  and  empty  heart  and  mind  before 
Him.  One  of  these  days,  while  you  are  thus 
waiting,  there  will  come  into  your  imnost  being 
such  a  sense  of  the  reality  and  presence  of  the 
personal  Christ — such  a  vision  of  Him  who  is 
fairest  among  ten  thousand,  that  your  heart 
will  hardly  be  able  to  contain  itself,  and  you 
will  turn  to  your  pupils  thrilled  with  that  fine 
frenzy  which  the  artist  feels  when,  all  on  fire 
with  the  vision  before  him,  he  seizes  his  lump 
of  clay  and  begins  to  mold. 


XXVI 
SEEDS  TO  SOW 

THEEE  are  two  ways  to  get  rid  of 
grass.  One  is  to  let  it  alone  until  it 
grows  up,  and  then  pull  it  up  by  the 
roots.  It  is  an  ancient  method  that  is  still  held 
in  much  favour  where  laziness  is  king.  The 
other  is  to  get  ahead  of  it — to  get  there  first 
with  something  better.  The  soil  is  no  respecter 
of  persons.  It's  first  come,  first  serve.  If  the 
grass  gets  there  first,  it  will  have  the  right  of 
way.  If  your  wheat  gets  there  first,  it  will 
have  the  right  of  way.  He  was  a  wise  warrior 
who  said  that  the  way  to  win  a  battle  is  to  get 
there  first  with  the  most  men.  There  is  every 
advantage  to  the  man  who  occupies  the  ground 
first  in  every  battle  of  life,  whether  he  is  fight- 
ing grass,  or  soldiers,  or  sin. 

Are  you  getting  there  first  ?  Are  you  on 
the  ground  with  plenty  of  good  seed  ahead  of 
the  enemy  ?  Are  you  waiting  for  evil  to  sprout 
up  and  grow,  intending  to  pull  it  up  by  the  roots 
by  and  by,  or  are  you  hastening  to  get  rid  of  it 
before  it  comes?  What  about  the  hearts  of 
your  pupils  ?  Are  you  trying  to  get  there  first  ? 
141 


142    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

Are  you  already  on  the  ground  with  a  good 
crop  planted,  or  are  you  simply  watching  and 
waiting  for  little  sprouts  of  evil  to  spring  up, 
that  you  may  pull  them  up  by  the  roots  ?  Are 
you  a  good,  live  farmer  in  the  Lord's  service  ? 
Are  you  a  hearty  hater  of  grass  ? 

Take,  for  example,  the  seeds  of  doubt  which 
the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  combine  to 
sow  in  the  heart  of  every  young  man  the  mo- 
ment he  begins  to  sprout  a  mustache.  You 
know  that  in  the  course  of  human  events  that 
boy  in  your  class  is  going  to  sprout  a  mustache, 
and  you  know  that  to-day  the  ground  of  his 
heart  is  practically  unoccupied.  You  know 
that  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  have 
their  eyes  on  it,  and  that  as  sure  as  the  sun 
shines  they  will  be  on  hand  when  the  time 
comes  to  take  possession.  They  are  standing 
ready  now  with  bushels  and  bushels  of  seeds  of 
doubt  and  skepticism  and  unbelief — call  them 
what  you  will — ready  to  scatter  them  broad- 
cast the  moment  the  word  is  given.  And  to- 
day you  have  that  boy  in  charge.  He  is  not 
disposed  to  doubt  now,  and  you  have  the  first 
chance.  What  are  you  doing  about  it  ?  Are 
you  waiting  quietly  to  see  the  sprouts  of  doubt 
shoot  up  so  that  you  can  pull  them  up  by  the 
roots,  or  are  you  on  the  ground  busily  sowing 
down  the  soil  with  seeds  that  will  forever  keep 
doubt  from  getting  a  hold  ?    If  you  are  going 


Seeds  to  Sow  140 

to  win  this  battle,  should  you  not  be  on  the 
ground  with  the  most  seed  first  ? 

It  is  sheer  nonsense,  this  idea  that  a  young  man 
must  become  an  unbeliever  before  he  can  ever 
become  an  intelligent  believer.  It  may  be  safe 
to  say  of  a  young  man  that  he  is  likely  to  pass 
through  certain  stages  of  development,  in  which 
he  will  find  it  easy  to  doubt  and  hard  to  be- 
lieve; but  God  did  not  so  plan  this  world  that 
any  man  in  his  making  should  be  compelled  at 
any  time  to  doubt  his  Maker.  A  young  man 
may  be  preserved  from  the  experience  of  unbe- 
lief just  as  he  may  be  saved  from  sowing  his 
wild  oats. 

What  kind  of  seed  do  we  need  to  sow  in 
order  to  occupy  the  heart  ahead  of  unbelief  ? 
I  answer,  first,  the  fundamental  truths  of  our 
religion;  second,  certain  practical,  every-day 
truths  or  facts  which  effectually  answer  all  the 
arguments  that  can  be  brought  against  our 
religion.  Let  me  mention  two  of  these  every- 
day facts  which  we  need  to  sow  in  the  heart  of 
every  boy— and  every  girl,  for  that  matter— 
with  whom  we  come  in  contact : 

The  first  is  that  the  proof  of  the  pudding  is 
in  the  eating.  It  makes  no  difference  what  the 
cook  or  the  critic  may  say  about  the  pudding, 
the  proof  of  it  is  in  the  eating.  That  is  final. 
The  cook  may  bring  a  car-load  of  facts  to  prove 
that  the  pudding  was  properly  made,  and  the 


144    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

critic  may  offer  a  car-load  of  theories  to  prove 
that  it  was  not,  but  the  proof  of  it  is  still  in  the 
eating.  So  it  makes  no  difference  what  men 
may  say  about  our  religion  :  the  proof  of  it  is  in 
the  eating.  What  does  it  do  for  the  man  who 
receives  it,  devours  it,  appropriates  it,  absorbs  it  ? 
The  logic  is  irresistible :  if  our  religion  makes 
a  man  more  godlike,  it  is  of  God,  and  all  the 
theories  and  all  the  alleged  facts  that  men  may 
pile  up  against  it  are  not  worth  a  sou.  The 
question  is,  does  it  make  men  more  godly  ? 
What  has  it  done  for  the  world  ?  What  has  it 
done  for  intelligent  men  and  women  ?  What 
has  it  done  even  for  men  who  do  not  accept  it, 
but  whose  lives  have  notwithstanding  come 
under  its  influence?  What  has  it  done  for 
your  best  friend?  What  has  it  done  for 
your  mother?  Said  a  man,  "I  don't  know 
much  about  religion — I  am  no  theologian — but 
I  know  my  mother,  and  I  know  that  the  relig- 
ion that  can  make  such  a  mother  is  good 
enough  for  me." 

Another  seed  to  sow  in  the  mind  of  a  grow- 
ing boy  or  a  girl  is  the  truth  that  the  ability  to 
speak  with  authority  about  one  thing  is  no 
evidence  of  a  man's  ability  to  speak  with 
authority  about  another.  A  young  man  is  not 
at  college  a  month  before  some  young  fellow 
comes  to  him  and  whispers,  "  Why  is  it  that 
so  many  of  our  great  scholars  don't  believe  in 


Seeds  to  Sow  14^ 

the  Christian  religion  ?  "    And  instantly  the 
young  man  falls  down  in  a  heap.     He  does  not 
stop  to  inquire  whether  it  is  true  or  whether,  if 
true,  it  has  any  significance ;  he  simply  falls  in 
a  heap.    If  a  man  with  as  big  a  brain  as 
Professor  Sophocles  cannot  see  anything  in  relig- 
ion, then  surely  there  can  be  nothing  in  it. 
But  the  fact  that  a  man  has  a  big  brain  proves 
nothing  except  that  he  has  a  big  brain.     He 
may  be  very  wise  or  he  may  be  otherwise.     He 
may  know  everything  worth  knowing  in  one 
sphere  of  life  and  he  may  know  nothing  worth 
knowing  in  any  other  sphere  of  life.     A  back- 
woodsman from  the  mountains  walks  into  a 
chemical  laboratory.     The  moment  he  shuts  the 
door  behind  him  he  is  in  a  new  world,  but  he 
does  not  see  it.    He  has  nothing  with  which  to 
grasp  it.     So  far  as  he  is  concerned,  the  world 
of  chemistry  does  not  exist.     Nothing  exists 
but  a  lot  of  vile-smelling  crucibles.     That  man 
can  speak  with  authority  on  mountain  corn  and 
mountain  bears,  but  not  about  chemistry.     An 
old  bachelor,  who  has  lived  fifty  years  by  him- 
self, spends  a  day  in  a  home  illumined  with  love. 
His  mother  died  when  he  was  a  baby,  and  he 
grew  up  in  an  orphanage.    He  learned  to  spell 
love  when  a  little  child,  and  he  has  never  spelled 
it   since.     He  can  no  more  comprehend  the 
world  of  love  than  a  backwoodsman  can  com- 
prehend the  world  of  chemistry.    A  young  man 


146    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

just  out  of  college  consecrates  himself  for  life 
on  the  altar  of  material  science.  He  gives  his 
days  and  nights  to  the  study  of  matter.  He 
has  no  thought  for  anything  else.  As  time  runs 
on  he  loses  all  taste  for  everything  else,  all 
capacity  for  enjoying  everything  else.  At  fifty 
he  has  not  read  a  poem  in  thirty  years,  and  he 
tells  you  it  is  all  bosh.  He  has  not  heard  an 
opera  or  an  oratorio  in  thirty  years,  and  music 
is  all  bosh.  He  has  never  had  time  to  fall  in 
love,  and  love  is  all  bosh.  He  is  a  stranger  to 
the  world  of  art,  the  world  of  the  affections, 
the  world  of  sentiment.  In  his  blind  study  of 
matter  he  has  given  no  thought  to  spirit  or  that 
which  is  spiritual.  He  has  never  tried  to  reach 
out  after  God  in  prayer.  He  has  remained  a 
stranger  to  all  the  higher  impulses  that  come  to 
a  man  in  the  stillness  of  the  twilight.  That 
man  can  speak  with  authority  about  anything 
in  the  world  of  science,  but  who  will  take  him 
seriously  in  the  world  of  art,  or  the  world  of 
love  ?  It  was  such  a  man  who  said  to  a  man 
friend  who  had  been  crushed  by  the  loss  of  his 
wife :  " Pshaw,  man,  what  are  you  crying  about? 
The  world  is  full  of  women  just  as  good  as  she 
was."  Put  this  thought  in  the  mind  of  your 
boy.  If  we  do  not  take  what  this  man  says 
seriously  about  the  world  of  art,  or  the  world 
of  love,  because  we  know  that  he  knows  noth- 
ing about  it,  why  should  we  take  him  seriously 


Seeds  to  Sow  147 

when  he  presumes  to  speak  with  authority 
about  the  spiritual  world,  of  which  he  is  equally 
ignorant  ?  I  hardly  know  anything  more 
pitiful  than  Darwin's  confession,  made  after  he 
had  passed  the  prime  of  life.  He  tells  us  that 
he  had  lost  all  taste  for  music,  all  taste  for 
poetry,  all  taste  for  the  plastic  arts,  all  taste  for 
everything  beautiful  except  natural  scenery. 
He  had  devoted  himself  so  earnestly  and  exclu- 
sively to  the  one  sphere  in  which  he  had  chosen 
to  live  that  all  other  spheres  had  become  foreign 
to  him.  He  had  retained  his  taste  for  natural 
scenery  only  because  his  investigations  of  nature 
had  kept  him  in  touch  with  natural  scenery. 
The  pitiful  thing  about  it  is  that  Darwin  could 
see  that  he  had  lost  his  ability  to  grasp  these 
things  simply  because  he  had  spent  his  life 
apart  from  them,  and  yet  it  never  occurred  to 
him  that  his  refusal  to  believe  in  the  spiritual 
world  was  due  to  his  inability  to  grasp  it,  and 
his  inability  to  grasp  it  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
he  had  spent  his  life  entirely  apart  from  it. 
The  fact  that  a  man  who  has  devoted  his  life  to 
the  material  world  cannot  see  anything  in  the 
spiritual  world  does  not  prove  that  there  is  no 
spiritual  world  any  more  than  the  fact  that  an 
old  bachelor  cannot  see  the  world  of  love  proves 
that  there  is  no  world  of  love. 


XXVII 
SOME  CLASS  PEOBLEMS 

SOME  teachers  attempt  to  bring  a  back- 
ward pupil  forward  by  pushing  him  to 
the  front.  This  is  rarely  successful  and 
is  sometimes  fatal.  Doubtless  there  are  many 
backward  pupils  who  are  backward  through 
timidity  and  no  doubt  they  ought  to  be  helped 
over  their  tunidity;  but  it  is  not  wise  to 
help  a  child  over  his  timidity  by  jerking  him 
over  it.  Let  the  backward  pupil  stay  in  the 
background — for  a  while,  anyway.  Ask  him 
very  few  questions  at  first  and  let  them  be 
simple  and  easy.  Do  not  call  attention  to  him 
in  any  way  and  do  not  ask  him  a  question  that 
is  likely  to  excite  the  interest  of  others.  Do 
not  require  him  to  say  or  do  anything  that  will 
rivet  all  eyes  upon  him.  In  a  word,  don't  try 
to  jerk  him  forward.  Draw  him  forward  gently 
and  be  content  if  he  does  not  pull  back  from 
you.  If  he  is  backward  from  stupidity  talk 
with  him  privately  about  some  little  thing  you 
would  like  to  have  him  do.  Select  an  aim  for 
him — a  goal  you  would  like  to  have  him  reach. 
When  he  lags  behind  point  to  it  and  when  he 
reaches  it,  as  in  the  course  of  time  he  will  if 
148 


Some  Class  Problems  149 

you  are  faithful,  do  not  forget  to  rejoice  with 
him. 

2.  What  would  I  do  to  draw  out  a  timid 
pupil  ?  There  are  several  things  I  would  not 
do.  I  would  not  do  anything  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  the  class  to  him.  I  would  not  let  him 
know  that  I  was  conscious  of  his  timidity,  nor 
would  I  allow  the  pupils  to  show  that  they 
were  conscious  of  it.  I  would  never  ask  him 
a  question  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  lesson. 
I  would  never  ask  him  a  difficult  question. 
Finally,  I  would  not  be  too  anxious  to  draw 
him  out.  About  the  best  thing  one  can  do  to 
draw  out  a  timid  pupil  is  to  be  patient  and  wait. 
Ask  him  a  simple  question  now  and  then  in  a 
very  casual  way  and  pass  on.  Give  him  some 
little  thing  to  do.  It  is  easier  for  a  timid  child 
to  do  a  dozen  things  than  to  say  one  thing. 

3.  "  What  would  you  do  with  a  smart  pupil 
who  insists  upon  answering  all  the  questions  ?  " 
Chloroform  him.  Tell  him  privately  that 
you  are  more  anxious  to  get  answers  from 
those  who  do  not  know  the  lesson  well  than 
from  those  who  do.  If  he  persists  in  answer- 
ing ask  him  in  quick  succession  several  ques- 
tions which  you  know  he  cannot  answer.  Bear 
in  mind,  however,  that  the  smart  pupil  would 
not  have  a  chance  to  display  his  smartness 
overmuch  if  you  would  avoid  asking  questions 
of  the  class  as  a  whole.    This  may  be  done  oc- 


150    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

casionally  but  as  a  rule  pupils  should  be  ques- 
tioned individually.  This  of  course  does  not 
apply  to  adult  classes. 

4.  Why  are  my  pupils  disposed  to  antago- 
nize me  ?  Why  do  they  always  take  the  op- 
posite side  ?  Is  it  simply  because  they  dearly 
love  an  argument,  or  is  there  something  in 
what  I  say  or  in  my  manner  or  tone  of  voice 
that  always  rubs  them  the  wrong  way  ?  Have 
I  a  way  of  stoutly  maintaining  my  side  of  a 
question  so  that  my  pupils  are  tempted  to 
argue  with  me  ?  If  I  find  that  the  trouble  is 
with  myself — in  my  speech  or  spirit  or  general 
make-up— I  will  of  course  take  myself  in  hand 
instead  of  my  class.  If  on  the  other  hand  I 
find  that  it  is  due  to  an  inordinate  fondness  of 
my  pupils  for  argument  I  will  still  take  myself 
in  hand.  I  will  guard  against  saying  things 
that  will  tempt  them  into  a  discussion,  and 
when  I  find  my  pupils  about  to  take  sides 
against  me  I  will  quietly  switch  off  on  some- 
thing else. 

5.  "  What  would  you  do  with  a  child  who  has 
a  way  of  turning  up  her  nose  at  every  sign  of 
poverty  that  appears  in  the  clothing  of  her 
classmates  ?  "  I  don't  know.  The  trouble  is  it 
comes  from  either  a  lack  of  sense  which  you  can- 
not help,  or  a  lack  of  home  training  which  most 
of  us  don't  know  how  to  help.  I  should  say, 
seek  an  opportunity  outside  of  the  class  to  teach 


Some  Class  Problems  151 

her  those  things  which  her  mother  ought  to  have 
taught.  If  jou  cannot  do  this  you  can  only- 
pity  and  pray  and  be  patient,  while  seeking  to 
overcome  the  effect  of  her  sneers  upon  her 
classmates  by  teaching  them  (without  any  ref- 
erence to  the  sneering  pupil)  that  greatness  and 
goodness  are  matters  of  character,  not  of  clothes. 

6.  I  do  not  believe  in  offering  prizes  of  any 
sort.  I  believe  in  offering  rewards,  and  these 
rewards  should  be  of  the  same  character  as 
those  which  one  is  apt  to  win  in  later  life  if  one 
is  faithful.  In  other  words,  our  rewards  should 
be  of  the  nature  of  honours  and  promotions. 
The  greatest  rewards  we  get  in  this  life  are 

(1)  recognition  for  diligence  and  faithfulness  and 

(2)  opportunities  to  be  more  faithful  and  more 
diligent.  Give  a  pupil  a  certificate  of  honour 
for  faithfulness  and  when  he  has  accomplished 
a  certain  amount  of  work  promote  him.  These 
are  rewards  that  mean  something,  that  teach 
something,  and  that  abide.  Your  cheap  jew- 
elry and  other  flimsy  gewgaws  given  as  prizes 
mean  nothing,  teach  nothing  and  do  not  abide. 

7.  It  is  easy  to  fall  into  the  habit  of  doing 
too  much  for  one's  pupils.  Some  pupils  get  too 
much  teaching ;  some  too  much  preaching ; 
some  too  much  coaxing ;  some  too  much  moth- 
ering. There  are  teachers  who  are  so  fussy 
and  fidgety  that  they  worry  their  children  into 
a  fever.     It  is  never  safe  to  neglect  one's  pupils, 


152    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

but  it  is   well  sometimes  to  exercise  a  little 
wholesome  letting  alone. 

8.  "  What  would  you  do  with  a  stranger 
who  drops  into  your  class  and  takes  a  seat  with- 
out an  invitation  ?  "  I  would  give  him  a  most 
cordial  greeting,  ask  his  name,  give  him  mine, 
introduce  him  to  each  member  of  the  class,  hand 
him  a  Bible,  tell  him  what  point  we  have  reached 
in  the  lesson,  and  for  the  rest  of  the  hour  treat 
him  as  far  as  possible  as  one  of  the  class.  You 
may  say  that  this  will  break  into  your  lesson, 
and  perhaps  it  will ;  but  it  will  give  you  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  to  teach  your  pupils  a  lesson 
in  Christian  courtesy,  and  you  cannot  afford  to 
let  such  an  opportunity  slip  by  you. 

9.  You  have  found  that  you  can  make  no 
progress  in  teaching  without  an  aim  and  you 
have  therefore  set  up  a  goal  before  you  as  a 
magnet  to  draw  you  forward.  You  have 
learned  the  power  of  this  magnet  and  you 
would  not  be  without  it  for  the  world.  The 
moment  you  reach  your  goal  you  propose  to 
set  up  another.  Now  why  not  provide  for 
your  pupils  as  you  have  provided  for  yourself  ? 
They  can  make  no  progress  without  an  aim  any 
more  than  you  can,  and  they  are  not  likely  to 
decide  what  to  aim  at  without  your  help. 
Why  not  set  up  a  definite  goal  for  them  as  a 
magnet  to  draw  them  forward?  Plan  your 
work  with  this  end  in  view,  and  tell  them  your 


Some  Class  Problems  153 

plan.  Let  them  know  what  you  want  them  to 
reach  by  a  given  time.  See  that  their  eyes  are 
fixed  on  the  goal  at  which  they  are  to  aim  and 
then  see  that  they  do  not  lose  sight  of  it. 

10.  Ignore  the  impertinent  fussy  sort  of  a 
boy  who  is  always  interrupting  you  in  the 
lesson.  You  will  no  more  break  him  of  his 
ugly  habit  by  noticing  him  than  you  can  break 
a  child  of  the  habit  of  calling  you  from  another 
part  of  the  house  by  answering  him. 

11.  As  for  the  boy  who  is  always  playing 
"  tricks  "  in  the  class,  I  should  pay  little  attention 
to  his  conduct  during  the  lesson  hour,  but  I 
would  make  an  opportunity  to  see  him  alone 
during  the  week  and  have  a  frank  talk  with 
him.  I  would  try  to  show  him  that  while  he 
did  not  intend  to  do  wrong  he  was  doing  a 
great  deal  of  harm — so  much  harm  that  I  had 
found  it  necessary  to  come  to  him  about  it. 
If  I  could  get  an  expression  of  regret  from 
him  and  a  promise  to  do  so  no  more,  I  would 
make  him  feel  that  I  had  confidence  in  his 
word.  I  would  then  see  his  mother  and  try  to 
secure  her  cooperation.  If  the  boy  continued 
to  offend  in  spite  of  my  remonstrances  I  would 
tell  him  plainly  that  he  could  no  longer  remain 
in  my  class,  and  I  would  then  turn  him  over 
to  the  superintendent. 

12.  Of  course  it  is  difficult  to  keep  up  the 
interest  of  the  class  in  summer,  but  you  will 


154    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

find  it  a  great  deal  more  difficult  if  you  grumble 
over  it.  The  wise  teacher  treats  the  listlessness 
of  summer  just  as  he  does  its  heat.  The  best 
way  to  get  through  a  hot  summer  is  to  accept 
the  fact  that  summers  are  hot  and  to  refuse  to 
think  of  the  heat.  And  so  the  best  way  for  a 
teacher  to  get  through  a  summer  is  to  accept 
the  fact  that  everybody  is  more  or  less  listless 
in  summer  and  then  absolutely  refuse  to  think 
about  it.  !N"o  wise  teacher  ever  watches  his 
pupils  to  see  how  indifferent  they  are ;  he  knows 
they  will  appear  more  indifferent  than  ever. 
And  he  never  dares  to  talk  of  their  indifference, 
much  less  complain  about  it.  I  never  knew 
the  interest  of  a  pupil  to  be  awakened  by  being 
lectured  about  his  indifference. 

13.  "  Don't  you  think  it  unwise  to  promote 
a  class  to  a  higher  grade  and  leave  the  teacher 
behind  when  the  pupils  insist  on  staying  with 
him  ? "  I  have  never  found  this  so  serious  a 
matter  as  it  is  usually  assumed  to  be.  I  have 
known  pupils  to  be  up  in  arms  about  giving  up 
their  teacher  when  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  did 
not  care  a  ^g.  And  I  have  known  a  superin- 
tendent to  be  in  mortal  fear  that  a  class  would 
go  to  pieces  if  he  took  the  teacher  away  when  the 
pupils  were  secretly  delighted  at  the  thought  of 
a  change.  As  a  rule  these  matters  adjust  them- 
selves easily  after  a  week  or  two.  Of  course 
there  are  exceptions. 


Some  Class  Problems 


155 


14.  Fully  four-fifths  of  all  the  work  that  is 
done  to  win  the  hearts  of  the  pupils  in  the 
Sunday-school  is  done  in  the  primary  depart- 
ment. Possibly  the  primary  department  is 
overdoing  it.  Certainly  it  is  if  the  rest  of  the 
school  proposes  to  do  nothing.  The  contrast 
between  the  two  is  too  great.  The  primary  de- 
partment is  a  warm,  cozy  nest ;  the  main  school, 
to  the  child  coming  out  of  this  nest,  is  a  frozen 
world.  In  the  primary  department  he  has  all 
sorts  of  attentions  paid  him — perhaps  too 
many— now  he  must  shift  for  himself.  His  pri- 
mary teacher  knew  all  about  him— knew  his 
mamma  and  his  papa,  and  his  sisters  and  how 
many  kittens  he  had,  and  his  birthday— and 
always  came  to  see  him  or  sent  him  a  card 
when  his  birthday  came.  The  new  teacher 
speaks  very  kindly  to  him,  asks  him  a  few 
questions  out  of  the  quarterly,  and  the  thing  is 
done.  And  she  never  knows  anything  about 
his  mamma,  and  his  papa ;  she  never  knows 
anything  about  his  kittens  ;  she  never  so  much 
as  heard  that  he  has  a  birthday.  It  is  time 
we  were  taking  hold  of  this  problem.  We 
must  learn  to  take  the  children  where  the  pri- 
mary department  leaves  them.  The  ten-year- 
old  child  is  just  as  much  in  need  of  attention  as 
the  six-year-old  child,  and  the  fifteen-year-old 
child  is  just  as  much  in  need  of  attention  as  the 
ten-year-old  child.     We  never  grow  too  old  to 


156    Secrets  of  Sunday- School  Teaching 

need  the  affectionate  interest  of  those  who  are 
teaching  us.  We  want  our  teachers  to  know 
about  us ;  we  want  them  to  remember  our  birth- 
days. There  is  no  more  reason  why  a  forty- 
year-old  pupil  in  the  Sunday-school  should  not 
be  remembered  on  his  birthday  than  the  four- 
year-old  pupil. 

15.  Children  expect  something  on  Christmas 
from  those  who  love  them.  If  a  pupil  gets 
something  from  you  when  he  expected  nothing 
he  concludes  that  you  love  him  more  than  he 
thought  you  did.  If  he  gets  nothing,  when  be 
expected  something,  he  is  apt  to  conclude  that 
you  do  not  love  him  at  all.  Moreover,  if  you 
try  to  remember  all  who  are  dear  to  you,  and 
fail  to  send  anything  to  your  pupils  you  will 
find  it  difficult  to  think  of  them  as  belonging 
to  the  inner  circle  of  loved  ones.  It  is  not  wise 
to  send  pupils  expensive  presents,  but  I  would 
send  them  something — a  little  card,  or,  if  you 
can,  a  large  art  card  to  hang  on  the  wall,  which 
will  cause  them  to  think  of  you  and  of  the 
Sunday-school  many  times  through  the  year. 

16.  I  would  keep  the  absent  pupil's  name  on 
my  list  just  so  long  as  there  remained  the  slight- 
est chance  of  getting  him  back  again.  The  mo- 
ment you  drop  him  from  your  list  you  give  him 
up,  and  a  pupil  should  never  be  given  up  until 
he  is  dead,  or  has  left  the  community,  or  gone 
to  some  other  school. 


Some  Class  Problems  157 

17.  If  you  are  not  strong  enough  to  man- 
age your  class  do  not  confess  it  to  your  pupils 
by  fretting  over  them.  The  smallest  child  un- 
derstands that  people  fret  only  because  they 
can't.  The  wise  teacher  shows  his  strong 
points  and  keeps  his  weak  ones  to  himself. 

18.  As  a  rule  a  teacher  should  not  have  a 
heart-to-heart  talk  with  a  pupil  in  the  presence 
of  others,  but  he  ought  to  seek  opportunities  to 
have  such  talks  in  private. 


XXYIII 

BEACHING  THE  PUPILS  DUEING  THE 
WEEK 

I  DO  not  believe  that  it  is  the  business  of 
the  teacher  to  ring  door-bells  any  more  than 
I  believe  it  is  the  business  of  the  pastor. 
"  Pop  "  calls  may  do  some  good,  but  as  a  rule 
they  consume  more  time  than  they  are  worth. 
Pastors  are  finding  out  that  they  can  accom- 
plish more  in  one  visit  of  half  an  hour  or  an 
hour  than  in  half  a  dozen  ten-minute  calls. 
The  teacher  should  devote  what  time  he  can 
spare  to  a  few  visits  that  will  be  remembered 
rather  than  fritter  it  away  in  many  calls  that 
will  be  forgotten.  Most  of  us  feel  that  we 
have  little  time  to  spare  but  there  are  at  least 
two  occasions  when  the  teacher  7niist  visit  a 
pupil,  whether  he  can  spare  the  time  or  not — 
once  when  he  is  sick  and  the  other  when  death 
enters  his  home. 

Why  not  have  a  committee  to  visit  the  sick  ? 
I  answer :  A  Sunday-school  rarely  makes  a  big- 
ger blunder  than  when  it  appoints  a  committee 
to  visit  the  sick.  Yisiting  a  sick  teacher  is  the 
superintendent's  business,  and  visiting  a  sick 
pupil  is  the  teacher's  business,  and  a  committee 
can  no  more  take  the  place  of  either  than  it  can 
158 


Reaching  the  Pupils  During  the  Week  159 

take  the  place  of  a  mother  whose  business  it  is 
to  visit  her  sick  son.  What  would  you  think 
of  your  mother  if  she  should  stay  away  from 
you  when  you  were  sick  and  satisfy  her  con- 
science with  the  reflection  that  a  committee 
had  been  appointed  to  visit  you  ?  When  a  sick 
committee  visits  a  child  in  the  place  of  his 
teacher  one  thing  is  sure  to  happen.  It  is 
bound  to  happen.  "Miss  Jones  came  to  see 
me  when  I  was  sick  but  my  teacher  she  never 
comes.  I  want  Miss  Jones  for  my  teacher." 
The  right  of  a  teacher  to  look  after  his  sick 
pupils  is  a  divine  right,  and  let  no  school  ever 
interfere  with  it.  If  a  teacher  fails  to  visit  a 
sick  pupil  that  is  another  matter.  He  should 
be  interfered  with.  He  should  be  interfered 
with  long  enough  to  get  his  resignation.  If  a 
teacher  is  sick  himself  let  him  send  his  sick 
pupil  a  message  by  a  friend.  But  don't  let  the 
friend  go  as  a  committee. 

"  Is  it  always  necessary  to  visit  the  home  of 
a  pupil  in  the  case  of  a  death  in  the  family  ?" 
Yes.  "  Suppose  one  doesn't  know  the  family  ?  " 
I  am  sorry  for  the  teacher  who  has  never 
visited  the  homes  of  the  pupils.  JSTo  wonder 
he  feels  awkward  at  such  a  time  and  does  not 
know  what  to  do.  But  whether  I  knew  the 
family  or  not  I  would  call  at  once,  and  if  it 
was  not  convenient  to  see  my  pupil  I  would 
leave  my  card  for  him  as  well  as  the  family. 


l6o    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

And  a  day  or  two  afterwards  I  would  write 
him  a  letter  or,  if  I  found  this  too  diiRcult,  I 
would  send  him  a  bereavement  card  containing 
a  comforting  sentiment,  and  with  a  word  of 
sympathy  and  my  name  written  on  the  back. 

"  How  often  should  one  write  letters  to  one's 
pupils  ?  " 

You  don't  want  to  write  often  enough  to 
make  your  letters  commonplace  to  your  pupils. 
Ordinarily  three  or  four  times  a  year  will  do. 
Of  course  much  depends  upon  the  opportunities 
that  will  arise.  If  nothing  unusual  occurs  in 
the  life  of  a  pupil  you  may  content  yourself 
with  a  letter  accompanying  a  card  at  Christ- 
mas, at  Easter,  and  before  Children's  Day  or 
Eally  Day,  or  both.  But  special  opportunities 
are  going  to  arise.  Your  pupil  is  going  to  have 
a  birthday  which  you  must  not  ignore  under 
any  circumstances.  You  can  at  least  send  an 
appropriate  card  with  your  best  wishes  on  the 
back.  And  one  day  death  will  enter  his  home 
and  of  course  you  will  use  this  opportunity  for 
a  tender  missive.  And  perhaps  the  first  Sun- 
day in  next  month  will  be  the  anniversary  of 
his  joining  the  church.  That  will  give  you  an 
excellent  opportunity,  especially  if  he  has  need 
to  be  reminded  as  he  is  likely  to  be  now  and 
then  that  he  is  really  a  member  of  the  church. 

"  Is  there  any  special  advantage  in  writing 
letters  to  pupils  ?  " 


Reaching  the  Pupils  During  the  Week   l6i 

Do  you  remember  what  a  letter  meant  to  you 
when  you  were  a  child — a  letter  that  bore  your 
name  and  a  stamp  and  actually  came  through 
the  mail  ?  Did  it  not  make  you  happy  for  a 
whole  day  ?  And  did  you  not  prize  it  as  if  it 
were  worth  far  more  than  its  weight  in  gold  ? 
And  did  you  not  read  it  over  and  over  again 
and  remember  every  word  of  it  ?  And  when 
your  teacher  who  hated  letter-writing  stopped 
you  just  after  Sunday-school  to  say  something 
to  you  which  she  might  have  written  in  a  letter 
did  it  make  a  great  impression  upon  you  ?  Did 
you  repeat  it  over  and  over  on  your  way  home 
and  hug  her  words  to  your  heart  as  a  precious 
treasure?  Did  it  make  any  impression  upon 
you  at  all?  Didn't  you  forget  it  before  you 
reached  home  ? 

One  thing  more.  Don't  use  a  postal  in  writ- 
ing to  a  child.  'Not  if  you  can  get  together 
enough  money  to  buy  a  two-cent  stamp.  And 
the  reason  is  simple.  One  thing  that  makes  a 
letter  so  precious  to  a  child  is  its  privacy. 
Children  dearly  love  to  have  secrets.  To  have 
a  letter  from  one's  own  teacher  that  no  eyes 
have  looked  upon  except  the  teacher's  and  the 
child's — that  is  bliss  supreme.  Let  your  pupils 
taste  this  bliss.  Don't  spoil  it  all  by  putting  it 
on  a  postal  that  everybody  can  read — and  will 
read  before  the  pupil  gets  it. 


XXIX 

HELPING  THE  PUPILS  WITH  EVEEY-DAY 
PEOBLEMS 

OUR  lessons  in  the  course  of  a  year  or 
two  shed  light  on  almost  every  prob- 
lem of  life.  Are  we  making  the  most 
of  this  light  ?  Take,  for  example,  the  money 
question.  What  are  we  teaching  our  children 
about  money  ?  Half  the  pupils  in  the  Sunday- 
school  have  never  been  taught  anything  about 
money  except  the  duty  of  putting  a  penny  in 
the  plate  when  it  is  handed  around.  And  they 
hear  this  every  Sunday.  Has  the  Bible  no 
light  on  the  great  moral  questions  relating  to 
money  ?  Shall  we  let  our  pupils  go  out  into 
the  world  utterly  ignorant  of  the  great  princi- 
ples which  govern  honourable  men  in  the 
handling  of  money  ?  Thousands  of  young  men 
and  women  are  going  out  into  life  with  no 
higher  thought  than  to  make  money.  Nobody 
has  ever  suggested  to  them  a  higher  thought. 
Shall  we  not  at  least  tell  them  that  no  true  man 
was  ever  content  to  work  for  money  alone  ? — 
that  there  is  something  in  the  heart  of  every 
true  man  that  revolts  against  making  money 
for  its  own  sake  ? — that  the  only  way  in  which 
162 


Helping  Pupils  with  Problems      163 

a  manly  man  can  be  content  to  make  money 
is  to  do  some  good  while  he  is  making  it,  and 
to  do  good  with  it  when  he  has  made  it  ? 

Then  there  is  the  problem  of  suffering.     A 
child  sees  no  good  in  suffering  and  therefore 
few  children  suffer  heroically.     That  is  not  so 
bad,  but  it  is  pitiful  when  children  grow  up  to 
manhood  without  having  learned  how  to  suffer 
and  bring  their  childish  whining  with  them. 
Perhaps  half  of  the  failures  of  life  come  from 
faHing  to  get  a  right  attitude  towards  pain  on 
the  threshold  of  life.     We  start  out  running 
from  suffering.     There  is  but  one  thing  we  can 
run  from  without  becoming  cowardly  and  that 
IS  sin.     If  we  get  in  the  habit  of  running  from 
everything  that  is  painful,  hard,  bitter,  trying, 
unpleasant,   we    will  lose  what    courage    we 
started  with  and  we  will  lose  all  the  strength 
and  development  that  come  from  endurance. 
In  other  words,  we  will  never  become  real 
men  :  we  will  be  soft-fleshed,   muscleless  cry- 
babies all  our  days,     ^thing  is  easier  than  to 
teach  a  child  the  mission  of  suffering  in  life 
Show  him  a  baby.     What  is  sweeter  than  a 
baby  ?    But  suppose  Baby  never  stretched  its 
little  arms  and  legs,  never  made  an  effort  to 
walk,  never  felt  cold  or  heat  but  just  stayed  in 
Its  warm  cradle  and  cooed  the  days  away. 
What  would  you  think  of  Baby  ten  years  from 
to-day— a  great,  big,  gross  lump  of  muscleless 


164    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

flesh  with  no  strength  for  anything  ?  Look  at 
those  roses !  Last  year  they  made  a  poor 
show,  but  this  spring  mother  cut  the  bush 
mercilessly  almost  to  the  ground.  It  seemed 
such  a  cruel  thing  to  do,  but  look  at  those 
roses!  And  those  big  chrysanthemums  you 
had  last  fall — big  as  your  two  hands — came 
from  a  bush  that  a  year  or  two  ago  grew  little 
ugly  flowers  no  bigger  than  buttons.  And 
mother  did  it  by  pinching  off  nearly  all  the 
buds  on  the  bush  I 


XXX 

HOW  TO  INCEEASE  THE  ATTENDANCE 

IT  makes  little  difference  what  method  a 
housewife  uses  to  get  the  family  to  dimier 
— or  whether  she  uses  any  method  at  all — 
if  it  is  known  that  she  always  provides  a  good 
dinner.  So  it  makes  little  difference  what 
methods  are  used  to  get  children  to  attend 
Sunday-school  if  it  is  known  that  those  who  do 
go  get  something  worth  going  for.  Some  of 
us  are  too  much  concerned  about  getting  the 
children  to  come,  and  too  little  concerned  about 
what  we  should  do  for  them  when  they  do 
come. 

I  believe  in  offering  rewards  for  faithfulness, 
but  I  do  not  believe  in  games  of  chance,  or  in 
encouraging  a  child  to  hope  to  get  something 
for  nothing  in  this  life.  If  you  can  make  an 
offer  for  attendance  that  will  be  a  reward  for 
faithfulness  pure  and  simple,  well  and  good ; 
but  I  doubt  if  you  can  do  it.  Most  of  our 
contests  for  prizes  are  mere  games  of  chance. 
Here  is  a  little  child  who  would  have  been 
present  every  Sunday  but  for  hindrances  over 
which  he  had  no  control.  To  him  it  is  a  game 
of  chance.  Here  is  another  child  who  was 
^6S 


l66    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

present  every  Sunday  because  his  mother  saw 
to  it  that  he  was  present.  This  child  gets 
something  for  nothing.  Moreover  he  gets  a 
reward  which  does  not  belong  to  him  at  all  but 
to  his  mother.  One  child  misses  the  prize 
because  of  sickness.  Another  gets  it  because 
of  his  health.  If  this  sort  of  thing  is  repeated 
often  both  are  likely  to  grow  up  with  the  idea 
that  accidental  success  is  the  rule  rather  than 
the  exception  of  life. 

Membership  contests  are  like  all  other  races 
— exhausting  and  sometimes  perilous.  I  have 
known  Sunday-schools  to  come  out  of  them  so 
far  spent  that  they  were  never  able  to  recuper- 
ate. About  the  only  good  thing  to  be  said  of  a 
contest  is  that  what  it  does  it  does  quickly.  If  you 
absolutely  must  double  your  attendance  within 
the  next  month  or  two  I  would  have  a  member- 
ship contest.  But  if  you  want  to  increase  your 
membership  permanently  you  must  use  other 
methods.  A  membership  contest  is  a  big 
spasm,  and  the  life  of  a  spasm  is  short.  If 
after  doubling  your  attendance  by  a  member- 
ship contest  you  will  promptly  introduce  other 
methods  you  may  be  able  to  keep  it  up  to  high- 
water  mark.  Otherwise  it  is  likely  to  decline 
to  the  point  from  where  it  was  at  the  beginning. 
The  best  method  of  securing  a  large  permanent 
increase  is  a  method  that  lasts  the  year  round. 
Have  an  associate  superintendent  whose  busi- 


How  to  Increase  the  Attendance     167 

ness  it  shall  be  to  look  after  the  attendance. 
Give  him  a  standing  committee  with  a  secre- 
tary. The  committee  should  be  very  large  and 
should  be  composed  only  of  agreeable  persons 
who  know  how  to  make  a  pleasant  impression 
when  visiting  strangers.  Divide  the  committee 
into  twos.  They  should  always  go  on  their 
mission  as  did  the  seventy  whom  Jesus  ap- 
pointed— two  by  two.  Let  the  associate  super- 
intendent district  the  town  or  community,  and 
appoint  in  each  neighbourhood  a  child  (not  an 
adult)  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  look  out  for 
all  newcomers  in  his  neighbourhood  and  if 
they  have  no  fixed  Sunday-school  homes  re- 
port the  fact  at  once  by  'phone  or  postal  or  in 
person  to  the  associate  superintendent  or  secre- 
tary. The  children  thus  appointed  should  be 
known  as  the  "  lookout  committee."  I  would 
not  appoint  an  adult  on  this  committee  for  the 
simple  reason  that  a  child  will  learn  more  about 
a  new  neighbour  in  three  hours  than  an  adult 
will  learn  in  three  weeks.  Moreover,  he  will 
enjoy  the  honour  and  take  an  interest  in  the 
work.  The  secretary  should  keep  an  account 
of  all  names  thus  reported  and  of  the  commit- 
tees appointed  to  look  after  each  person.  Sup- 
pose the  name  of  a  young  man  is  reported. 
Two  young  men  notified  by  the  secretary  or 
associate  superintendent  should  call  to  see  this 
young  man  early  in  the  week.    Another  couple 


i68    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

should  call  and  repeat  the  invitation  towards 
the  end  of  the  week.  If  he  does  not  appear  at 
Sunday-school  the  following  Sunday  two  young 
men  should  see  him  on  Monday,  two  more  on 
Wednesday  and  two  more  on  Saturday.  The 
young  man  who  does  not  surrender  at  the  end 
of  the  second  week  should  be  visited  every  day 
of  the  following  week — each  time,  if  possible, 
by  a  different  committee.  If  he  still  holds  out 
do  not  set  him  down  as  a  hopeless  apostate. 
He  may  surrender  the  next  week.  Little  tots 
should  be  visited  by  ladies,  boys  by  boys  and 
young  men,  girls  by  girls  and  young  ladies. 
This  method  not  only  increases  the  attendance 
but  it  gives  more  than  half  of  the  teachers  and 
pupils  something  to  do,  and  wonderfully  quick- 
ens the  zeal  and  interest  of  the  whole  school. 
Other  methods  may  bring  quicker  results  but 
no  other  method  ever  devised  has  brought  better 
results. 


XXXI 

HOW  TO  OEGANIZE  A  BIBLE  CLASS 

NEXT  to  a  good  teacher  the  most  im- 
portant thing,  it  seems  to  me,  for  a 
Bible  class  is  a  thorough  organiza- 
tion. You  are  not  going  to  produce  the  class 
spirit — you  are  not  going  to  cultivate  the  tie 
that  binds — without  organization.  You  should 
elect  at  the  beginning  a  president,  a  vice-presi- 
dent, a  secretary,  a  treasurer,  an  executive 
committee  and  a  teacher.  I  would  have  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  provide,  among  other  things, 
for  social  meetings  of  the  class,  which  should 
be  held  very  often.  It  is  important  for  the 
class  to  choose  some  missionary  or  benevolent 
object  to  look  after.  A  class  badge,  also,  is  a 
good  thing.  One  of  the  best  features  that  can 
be  introduced,  however,  is  the  life  membership 
plan.  The  great  Vaughn  Bible  Class,  of  Wash- 
ington City,  adopted  this  plan  many  years  ago 
and  its  members  are  now  scattered  all  over  the 
world.  A  young  man  joins  the  class  for  life. 
If  he  goes  to  the  other  side  of  the  globe  he  is 
still  a  member  and  he  is  never  lost  sight  of. 

But  a  big  Bible  class  is  in  danger  of  being 
wrecked  unless  you  have  an  organization  that 

l6q 


lyo    Secrets  of  Sunday-School^Teaching 

reaches  every  man  in  it.  Let  me  give  you  a 
plan.  Divide  the  community  into  several  dis- 
tricts, so  that  each  district  will  contain  from 
eight  to  twelve  members  of  your  class.  Elect 
a  chairman  and  a  vice-chairman  in  each  district. 
Let  each  chairman  call  his  members  in  his  dis- 
trict together  and  organize  them  into  a  division. 
The  chairman  in  the  first  district  will  organize 
Division  No.  1 ;  the  chairman  in  the  second 
Division  l^o.  2,  and  so  on.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  have  any  officers  except  the  chairman  and 
vice-chairman  ;  the  work  is  to  be  done  mainly 
by  committees.  The  division  itself  should  be  a 
committee  on  membership.  There  should  be  an 
absentee  committee,  composed  of  two  or  three 
members ;  a  newcomers'  committee,  to  look 
after  the  young  men  who  have  just  moved  into 
the  neighbourhood  ;  a  committee  to  look  after 
the  sick  and  unfortunate ;  a  committee  to  aid 
members  out  of  employment  in  securing  posi- 
tions ;  and  perhaps  one  or  two  other  committees. 
Arrange  the  committees  so  that  every  member 
of  a  division  will  be  a  member  of  one  other 
committee  besides  the  membership  committee. 
The  chairman  should  call  up  his  members  over 
the  'phone  or  see  them  in  person  or  write  to 
them  once  a  week,  and  have  them  give  him  the 
names  of  all  the  men  in  the  district  who  are  not 
connected  with  any  Bible  class,  the  names  of 
all  newcomers  and  the  names  of  any  who  are 


How  to  Organize  a  Bible  Class      171 

sick  or  out  of  employment  or  in  trouble  of  any 
sort.  The  chairman  will  turn  over  these  names 
to  the  proper  committees  and  will  call  up  the 
chairmen  of  these  committees  occasionally  to 
see  that  they  are  doing  their  work.  As  chair- 
man of  the  membership  committee,  he  will,  of 
course,  divide  up  the  names  of  all  prospective 
members  among  the  members  of  the  division. 
In  sending  an  invitation  to  a  man  to  join  the 
class,  it  is  best  to  send  by  a  committee  of  two. 
If  they  do  not  succeed  in  getting  him,  send 
another  committee,  and  another,  and  another. 
He  should  not  be  allowed  to  go  in  peace  until 
he  either  joins  or  leaves  the  neighbourhood. 
When  a  division  grows  to  a  membership  of 
fifteen  the  district  should  be  divided  and  two 
divisions  organized  in  the  place  of  the  old  one. 
The  chairman  of  the  several  divisions,  together 
with  the  general  officers  of  the  class,  should 
compose  the  general  executive  committee.  The 
executive  committee  should  be  divided  into 
several  sub-committees  corresponding  to  the 
division  committees,  and  when  the  division 
committees  are  unable  for  any  reason  to  attend 
to  any  duty  that  may  be  assigned  to  them,  the 
matter  should  be  turned  over  to  the  general 
sub-committees.  For  instance,  if  the  employ- 
ment committee  should  be  unable  to  secure  a 
position  for  a  member  who  is  out  of  employ- 
ment, the  fact  should  be  reported  to  the  general 


172    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

employment  sub-committee,  which  may  enlist 
the  services  of  the  entire  class  in  behalf  of  the 
unemployed  member.  In  addition  to  the  usual 
general  officers  of  the  class,  there  should  be  an 
absentee  secretary.  The  absentee  secretary 
should  forward  to  the  chairman  of  each  division 
every  Monday  the  names  of  the  members  of  his 
division  who  were  absent  on  Sunday.  The 
division  chairman  will  turn  these  names  over  to 
the  chairman  of  his  absentee  committee,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  week  call  up  the  absentee  chair- 
man and  find  out  if  his  committee  has  visited 
or  communicated  with  the  absentees.  Every 
Sunday  morning  after  the  study  of  the  lesson 
the  chairman  of  each  division  (or  in  his  absence 
the  vice-chairman)  should  report  the  names  of 
all  new  members  secured  by  his  division,  and 
also  the  names  of  any  sick  members  in  his  dis- 
trict. Once  a  month  the  secretary  should  report 
to  the  class  the  name  of  the  division  making  the 
best  report  in  attendance,  and  the  division 
reporting  the  largest  number  of  new  members. 
This  plan  has  many  apparent  advantages.  It 
not  only  keeps  account  of  the  members,  so  that 
no  one  can  be  lost  sight  of,  but  it  gives  every 
member  something  to  do,  and  also  keeps  ac- 
count of  all  who  ought  to  be  members. 


XXXII 
THE  WAY  OF  A  CHILD 

I  SUPPOSE  that  the  hardest  thing  you  will 
ever  have  to  do  as  a  teacher  will  be  to 
keep  from  forgetting  that  you  are  teach- 
ing children.  Not  grown  people  who  know 
what  you  know,  nor  cooing  babies  who  know 
nothing  at  all,  nor  marvels  of  wisdom,  nor 
drivelling  idiots,  but  just  plain  unadulterated 
children. 

It  is  mainly  because  the  average  teacher  has 
such  a  poor  memory  at  this  point  that  he  is  only 
an  average  teacher — that  is,  a  very  poor  teacher. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  no  one  ever  teaches 
successfully  who  does  not  know  his  pupils,  but 
many  of  us  do  not  realize  just  what  this  means. 
We  think  it  means  that  we  must  know  that  this 
pupil  is  named  John  and  that  pupil  Henry ;  that 
John  has  a  father  who  is  a  drunkard,  and  that 
Henry  has  a  temper  that  must  be  crucified — 
and  so  on.  This  is  all  very  well  and  indeed  it 
is  all  very  necessary.  But  these  are  not  the 
things  we  need  to  remember  most  of  all. 
The  things  that  we  need  to  remember  most 
of  all  are  not  the  things  that  are  peculiar  to 
173 


174    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

John  or  Henry,  but  the  things  that  are  common 
to  all  children. 

For  instance,  there  is  the  child's  way  of  look- 
ing at  things.  The  average  teacher  talks  about 
a  thing  as  if  his  pupil  was  looking  over  his 
shoulder  and  seeing  things  just  as  he  sees  them. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  point  of  view  of  a  child 
is  almost  never  the  point  of  view  of  his  teacher. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  you  should 
know  the  point  of  view  of  your  pupil  and  that 
you  should  take  his  views  into  account.  You 
must  respect  his  opinions.  It  is  a  serious  thing 
to  ignore  a  child's  way  of  looking  at  things. 
It  is  often  a  fatal  thing.  It  is  better  that  a 
millstone  should  be  hanged  about  the  teacher's 
neck  and  that  he  should  be  drowned  in  the 
depths  of  the  sea  than  that  he  should  offend 
one  of  these  little  ones  by  running  roughshod 
over  his  views  trying  to  force  his  own  views 
into  their  place. 

The  biggest  thing  about  a  healthy  child  is 
his  appetite.  He  is  always  wanting  to  be  fed. 
And  he  craves  food  for  his  mind  and  his  heart 
just  as  intensely  as  he  craves  it  for  his  body. 
Your  five-year-old  is  as  hungry  for  a  good  story 
read  out  of  a  book  as  he  is  for  the  big  red  apple 
he  has  just  discovered  in  the  pantry.  And  he 
is  as  hungry  for  mother's  loving  attentions  as  he 
is  for  the  biggest  slice  of  cake  on  the  table. 
Wherever  he  goes  he  wants  to  be  fed,  and  if 


The  Way  of  a  Child  175 

you  send  him  where  he  gets  nothing  he  will  not 
willingly  go  again.     That  is  why  some  of  the 
children  you  know  have  to  be  pushed  off  to  Sun- 
day-school every  Sunday  morning.     They  have 
been  to  Sunday-school  and  they  have  not  been 
fed,  and  the^^  don't  want  to  go  again.     They 
feel  as  if  they  have  been  cheated.     It  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  some  children  do  not  want 
to  learn.     Some  children  may  not  want  to  learn 
some  things  you  may  want  to  teach  them,  but 
they  want  to  learn  all  the  same.     And  when 
they  come  back  from  Sunday-school  without 
having  had  the  cravings  of  then*  minds  satisfied 
they  are  in  great  disgust.     "  What's  the  use  of 
going  to  that  old  Sunday-school  ?    They  don't 
teach  a  fellow  anything."     "But  don't  they 
teach  you  the  golden  text  ?  "     "  Yes,  but  that's 
all  they  do."    There  is  no  meat  in  the  golden 
text  for  the  child  mind.     Of  course,  it  must  be 
taught  but  you  can  starve  a  child  to  death  feed- 
ing him  on  golden  texts.     What  his  mind  craves 
is  knowledge — not  principles,   or  theories,  or 
rules.     He  wants  facts,  and  while  he  likes  them 
put  up  in  story  form  he  will  take  them  just  so 
if  you  give  them  to  him  that  way.     Almost  any 
bit  of  knowledge  Tvall  interest  a  child,  and  if 
you  give  him  a  good  many  facts  they  will  satisfy 
his  craving — for  a  while.     Are  you  feeding  the 
children   that   come  to  your  Sunday-school? 
If  your  pupil  should  visit  you  at  your  home 


176    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

about  the  first  thing  you  would  do  would  be  to 
get  something  nice  for  him  to  eat.  Will  you 
allow  him  to  come  to  your  class  Sunday  after 
Sunday  and  never  give  him  anything  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  his  mind,  or  the  deeper  cravings 
of  his  heart  ? 

We  are  often  overwhelmed  by  the  thought 
that  our  children  are  imitating  our  ways.  But 
children  do  not  stop  with  imitation ;  they  use 
our  ways  as  premises  to  reason  out  new  ways 
for  themselves.  That  is,  what  we  say  or  do  not 
only  suggests  to  a  child  the  saying  or  doing  of 
the  same  thing,  but  it  frequently  suggests  to 
him  the  saying  or  doing  of  something  else  also. 
He  not  only  draws  on  our  ideas,  but  he  is 
continually  reasoning  out  of  them  ideas  of  his 
own.  A  neighbour  of  ours  was  speaking  the 
other  day  of  a  servant  who  had  turned  out 
badly.  "  Why,  papa,"  interrupted  the  youngest 
hopeful  of  the  house — "  why,  papa,  she's  as 
dishonest  as  the  moon."  "  Where  did  you  get 
that  idea,  my  son  ?  "  "  Well, "  said  the  young- 
est, "  I'd  like  to  know  if  you  didn't  say  one  day 
that  that  man  what  came  here  was  as  honest 
as  the  sun." 

Let  me  add  some  practical  hints : 

1.  A  child  will  do  almost  anything  for  you 
with  a  good  grace  except  wait.  It  is  a  hard 
thing  to  keep  his  little  body  still ;  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  hold  his  little  mind.     When  the 


The  Way  of  a  Child  177 

superintendent  fingers  the  leaves  to  find  a  song, 
or  the  teacher  spends  two  minutes  looking  up  a 
reference,  one  thing  inevitably  happens :  all  the 
little  minds  go  rushing  off  like  frisky  colts  to 
some  fine  field  of  fancy,  and  ten  to  one,  half 
of  them  will  not  be  caught  and  brought  back 
before  the  school  is  over.  Don't  let  loose  the 
little  colts  for  a  moment,  not  even  to  get  out 
your  spectacles.  Get  your  songs,  your  ref- 
erences, your  announcements  ready  beforehand, 
and  when  you  open  your  school  or  begin  your 
lesson  start  off  in  a  lively  trot  and  keep  going. 
It  is  the  only  way  to  keep  little  colts  or  little 
Sunday-school  scholars  in  line. 

2.  Figures  of  speech  should  never  be  used 
in  talking  to  little  children,  unless  they  are 
explained,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  mind 
of  a  little  child  cannot  grasp  the  idea  of  figur- 
ative language.  A  little  child  takes  things 
literally  or  not  at  all.  Try  this  sentence  on  the 
first  child  you  meet :  "  That  man's  heart  is  all 
right  though  his  head  may  be  wrong."  That 
is  simple  enough,  to  be  sure,  to  you  and  me,  but 
you  will  not  find  one  tot  in  a  thousand  who  can 
guess  at  its  meaning.  There  are  so  many  fig- 
ures of  speech  in  the  Bible  that  it  is  impossible 
for  the  teacher  to  carry  his  pupils  very  far 
without  using  them;  but  they  should  be  in- 
troduced gradually,  and  carefully  explained  over 
and  over  again. 


178    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

3.  If  three-fourths  of  the  scholars  were 
grown  people  you  would  think  it  very  absurd 
to  select  such  songs  as  "  I  washed  my  hands  this 
morning."  Why  should  it  not  be  just  as  absurd 
when  three-fourths  of  the  scholars  are  children 
to  be  always  singing  such  dirges  as  "Peace, 
Perfect  Peace  "  ?  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
songs  should  be  boisterous.  'Now  and  then  the 
children  will  like  something  sweet  and  low. 
But  a  Sunday-school  song  should  never  be  a 
dirge.  No  healthy  child  ever  enjoyed  the  music 
at  a  funeral. 

4.  As  a  rule  children  do  not  handle  the 
Bible  irreverently  until  the  example  is  set  for 
them  by  older  persons.  Sometimes  it  is  set  by 
their  teacher.  I  was  not  surprised  the  other 
day  to  see  a  boy  in  Sunday-school  throw  his 
Bible  across  the  class,  when  I  found  that  the 
teacher,  who  happened  to  have  a  low  chair,  was 
sitting  on  her  own  copy  of  the  Word  of  God. 

5.  I  would  not  often  teU  a  child  that  this  or 
that  is  his  duty,  and  then  proceed  to  exhort  him 
to  do  it.  I  would  rather,  if  I  could,  tell  him  a 
story  of  something  that  would  lead  him  to  dis- 
cover the  duty  for  himself  and  that  would 
inspire  him  with  the  desire  to  do  it.  A  child 
will  often  perform  a  duty  which  he  has  dis- 
covered for  himself,  when  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  get  him  to  do  the  duty  which  you  have 
pointed  out  to  him. 


The  Way  of  a  Child  179 

6.  Some  flowers  bloom  in  a  few  months ; 
some  take  a  year ;  one,  they  say,  takes  a  century. 
Some  bloom  in  the  light,  some  only  in  the  night. 
So  with  the  boys  and  girls  in  om^  classes.  Some 
blossom  out  so  quickly  you  look  upon  them  wide- 
eyed  with  wonder  ;  some  are  so  slow  you  can 
hardly  see  that  they  are  developing  at  all ;  and 
there  is  one  in  the  class  you  have  worked  with 
and  prayed  over  so  long,  it  looks  like  it  will 
take  a  century.  And  some  are  not  going  to 
blossom  out,  maybe,  until  a  great  darkness 
comes  down  upon  their  lives  and  brings  out  the 
stars.    Let  us  be  patient. 


XXXIII 
ABOUT  BOYS 

YOU  can  read  a  little  child  like  a  book. 
He  is  so  candid,  so  artless,  so  perfectly 
transparent.  But  you  never  make  a 
bigger  mistake  than  when  you  imagine  that 
you  can  read  a  big  child  like  a  book.  Most  of 
us  cannot  read  him  at  all.  It  is  about  as  hard 
for  some  folks  to  tell  what  is  inside  of  a  four- 
teen-year-old boy  as  it  is  to  decipher  the 
hieroglyphics  on  Cleopatra's  needle.  A  big 
boy  never  advertises  ;  he  hides.  If  he  thinks  of 
doing  an  heroic  thing  it  makes  him  blush — he 
is  so  afraid  somebody  will  find  it  out.  If  you 
suspect  the  good  that  is  in  him  he  will  throw 
you  off  the  track  by  blurting  out  something 
unspeakably  foolish  or  shocking.  He  has  a 
horror  of  the  goody-goody.  He'd  rather  be 
knocked  down  and  sat  upon  by  a  mere  kid  than 
to  have  you  pat  him  on  the  head  and  call  him 
a  good  boy.  (In  the  name  of  all  that's  good, 
kind  reader,  don't  pat  a  fourteen-year-old  boy 
on  the  head.)  And  he'd  rather  lie  down  and 
die  this  minute  than  have  a  body  speak  of  him 
as  "  a  comfort  to  his  mother."  And  yet  if  you 
should  one  day  by  some  strange  fortune  succeed 
i8o 


About  Boys  181 

in  finding  your  way  deep  down  into  the  heart  of 
that  boy  you  would  very  likely  find  that  he 
really  wants  to  be  a  good  boy  and  a  comfort  to 
his  mother.  The  only  way  to  read  a  boy  is  to 
get  close  to  him.  And  the  only  way  to  get 
close  to  him  is  to  approach  him  as  a  companion. 
And  the  only  way  to  approach  him  as  a  com- 
panion is  to  resurrect  your  own  boyhood  in 
your  own  heart.  No  man  can  reach  the  heart 
of  a  boy  who  cannot  recall  the  feelings  of  his 
own  boyhood.  But  how  about  a  woman  ?  I 
don't  know.  It  is  only  now  and  then  that  you 
will  find  a  woman  who  can  get  close  to  the 
heart  of  a  fourteen-year-old  boy.  And  when 
you  find  her  you  will  probably  find  a  mischiev- 
ous-eyed mother  who  romped  with  fourteen- 
year-old  boys  when  she  was  twelve,  and  who 
was  known  to  her  dismayed  maiden  aunts  as  a 
horrid  tomboy. 

]^o  doubt  there  are  bad  boys  just  as  there 
are  bad  men ;  and  I  suppose  if  a  census 
were  taken  we  should  find  about  as  many  of 
one  as  of  the  other.  The  main  difference  seems 
to  be  that  the  average  boy  conceals  his  good 
points,  while  the  average  man  conceals  his  bad 
ones.  When  a  small  boy  jumped  into  the  river 
the  other  day  and  rescued  a  drowning  man,  he 
blushed  at  the  applause  of  the  spectators  and 
ran  home  as  fast  as  his  little  legs  could  take 
him.    And  when  he  got  home  he  didn't  mention 


l82    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

it.  A  man  would  have  hastened  to  get  his 
photograph  and  family  history  ready  for  the 
evening  papers.  Men  turn  the  rough  side  in ; 
boys  turn  the  rough  side  out.  Men  are  prac- 
ticed in  the  art  of  concealing  their  infirmities 
— infirmities  of  temper,  speech,  appetite.  A 
boy  blurts  out  his  worst  feelings ;  lets  out  his 
ugliest  words,  whistling  hot  from  the  boiler ; 
and  if  he  has  the  appetite  of  a  pig  everybody 
knows  it.  Nobody  but  a  man's  wife  knows  a 
man's  appetite. 

A  man  is  adjudged  innocent  until  he  is  proved 
guilty.  That  is  his  privilege.  A  boy  is  ad- 
judged guilty  until  he  is  proved  innocent. 
That  is  his  fate.  Give  the  average  boy  a  square 
deal  and  a  fair  chance  along  with  the  average 
man  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  came  out  two 
laps  ahead  any  day. 

Not  that  boys  are  especially  good.  No,  no. 
But  men  are  not  especially  good  either.  I  am 
simply  pleading  for  a  square  deal.  We  don't 
play  fair  with  our  boys. 

Give  a  dog  a  bad  name  and  you  might  as 
well  kill  him.  We  have  learned  that  lesson, 
and  we  have  stopped  giving  our  dog  a  bad 
name.  We  give  him  the  best  place  in  the 
house  instead.  We  take  him  to  ride  in  my 
lady's  lap.  We  cover  him  with  ribbons  and 
caresses  and  all  sorts  of  nonsense.  A  hundred 
times  a  day  we  fall  down  and  worship  before 


About  Boys  183 

the  idol  with  a  dog  face.  And  when  we  rise 
from  our  knees  we  send  the  maid  to  find  out 
what  that  "  bad  boy  "  is  doing  and  to  drive  him 
out  of  the  house. 

We  call  men  men.  We  call  boys  lad  boys. 
If  we  treated  our  men  as  badly  most  of  them 
would  go  to  the  bad.  We  have  mercy  on  our 
men.  We  say,  "Yes,  but  he's  such  a  clever 
fellow ; "  and,  "  You  know  all  of  us  have  our 
weaknesses."  But  boys— boys  are  "unspeak- 
able ; "  "  they  drive  me  mad ; "  "  there's  noth- 
ing to  be  done  with  them  but  nail  them  up  in  a 
barrel  and  feed  them  through  a  bung-hole."  I 
don't  wonder  that  some  boys  go  wrong ;  I  won- 
der that  any  of  them  go  right— with  all  these 
things  tingling  in  their  ears. 

Let  us  be  fair  with  our  boys.  Some  men  go 
to  the  other  extreme.  They  say  boys  will  be 
boys,  and  they  shut  their  eyes  and  wait  quietly 
for  youth  to  sow  its  wild  oats.  That,  too,  is 
unfair.  My  boy  has  a  right  to  a  fair  chance. 
I  have  no  right  to  call  him  a  bad  boy,  but 
neither  have  1  a  right  to  deny  him  my  daily 
care,  my  instruction,  my  warnings,  my  com- 
panionship. I  cannot  excuse  my  neglect  of  my 
boy  by  affirming  that  a  boy  must  sow  his  wild 
oats.  A  boy  does  not  have  to  sow  his  wild  oats, 
but  he  is  likely  to  sow  them  if  I  do  not  go  along 
with  him  and  show  him  how  to  sow  good  ones. 

Look  for  the  good  in  that  boy.    There's  some- 


184    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

thing  better  in  him,  believe  me,  than  "  scissors 
and  snails  and  puppy  dogs'  tails."  Your  great- 
est hero  was  once  locked  up  inside  of  a  boy. 

But  do  not  expect  more  than  you  have  a 
right  to  expect.  I  know  a  good  man  who  has 
always  held  up  before  his  boy  a  view  of  the 
Christ  life  such  as  only  a  mature  saint  could 
appreciate.  That  boy  has  utterly  rebelled 
against  religion  and  despises  everything  that  is 
good.  I  know  another  man  who  has  held  up 
the  same  ideal  before  his  children  and  insisted 
that  one  who  did  not  reach  that  ideal  was  no 
Christian  at  all.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  the  children  have  grown  up  to  be  infidels. 
One  or  two  of  them  in  theory,  all  of  them  in 
practice.  One  might  exercise  a  little  common 
sense  in  these  matters.  Babes  have  a  right  to 
all  the  milk  they  need,  and  it  is  a  shame  to  turn 
their  little  stomachs  and  imperil  their  lives 
with  the  strong  meat  that  belongs  to  men. 
Whatever  may  be  our  own  ideas  or  ideals  we 
ought  to  remember  that  about  the  most  idiotic 
thing  one  can  do  in  teaching  a  child  is  to  try  to 
force  him  to  see  things  that  are  beyond  his 
range  of  vision.  He  should  be  encouraged  to 
hitch  his  wagon  to  a  star,  of  course ;  but  pray 
give  him  a  star  that  is  in  sight. 

I  know  another  man  who  is  an  ardent  be- 
liever in  the  doctrine  of  non-resistance.  He 
insists  upon  a  literal  interpretation  of  Christ's 


About  Boys  185 

command  to  turn  the  other  cheek.  He  believes 
that  there  are  no  circumstances  under  which 
one  is  ever  justified  in  resisting  another ;  that 
when  a  man  undertakes  to  defend  himself  he 
takes  himself  out  of  God's  hands  and  shows 
that  he  no  longer  trusts  God's  loving  care. 
This  man  also  insists  upon  teaching  this  sort  of 
thing  to  his  pupils.  The  result  is  his  boys  have 
no  more  respect  for  religion  than  they  have  for 
a  cry-baby.  If  it  is  religion  to  let  a  boy  run 
over  you — if  it  is  religion  to  let  all  the  boys  in 
the  neighbourhood  make  a  foot-mat  of  you — 
then  they  don't  want  any — that's  all. 

Every  boy  believes  in  manhood,  in  courage, 
in  grit,  in  square  dealing,  in  standing  pat.  If 
you  continually  hold  up  before  him  the  manli- 
ness of  Christ  the  probability  is  he  will  learn  to 
love  Christ  sooner  or  later ;  but  if  you  insist 
upon  picturing  the  Christian  as  a  pale-faced 
fellow  with  a  cotton  string  for  a  backbone,  he 
will  greatly  prefer  to  be  a  pagan.  I  would  not 
teach  a  boy  that  there  are  times  when  he  can 
fight — he  does  not  need  to  be  told  that,  but  I 
would  never  tell  him  that  if  he  wants  to  be  a 
Christian  he  must  never  fight  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. At  thirty  years  of  age,  with  the 
wisdom  that  you  have  and  with  the  grace  that 
God  has  given  you,  you  do  not  find  it  difficult 
to  keep  out  of  trouble  with  your  fellow  men, 
and  you  know  how  to  suifer  rather   than  to 


l86    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

strike  back.  But  just  remember  that  you  are 
thirty  years  of  age,  and  that  you  see  things  as 
no  boy  ever  saw  them  or  can  ever  be  made  to 
see  them  so  long  as  he  is  a  boy. 

Let  me  conclude  this  chapter  with  several 
important  "  don'ts." 

1.  Don't  let  those  boys  in  your  class  get  it 
into  their  heads  that  Jesus  was  sentimental 
rather  than  practical.  For  example,  when  you 
quote  what  the  Master  said  about  labouring  for 
"  the  meat  which  perisheth  "  you  want  to  remind 
your  pupils  that  Jesus  did  not  mean  to  discour- 
age labour.  On  the  contrary.  He  was  discour- 
aging idleness.  He  would  have  these  men 
work  for  their  bread,  and  not  go  roaming  over 
the  country  expecting  Him  to  feed  them.  He 
did  not  want  a  following  of  begging  priests  or 
pious  tramps,  l^either  did  He  mean  to  teach 
that  a  busy  life  is  incompatible  with  a  spiritual 
life.  At  no  time  did  He  ever  intimate  that  to 
be  heavenly-minded  we  must  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  earth ;  that  a  man  should  be  too  spir- 
itual to  handle  money ;  that  piety  is  opposed 
to  perspiration ;  that  we  should  be  more  con- 
cerned about  paying  attention  to  the  preacher 
than  about  paying  the  debt  we  owe  him. 
Bread  is  a  good  thing,  but  Jesus  would  have  us 
learn  that  man  must  not  live  by  bread  alone. 
It  is  a  means,  not  an  end :  it  is  not  the  princi- 
pal thing.     We  need  to  know  how  to  make  it 


About  Boys  187 

without  setting  our  hearts  on  it.  Bread  is  for 
to-day:  man  is  for  eternity.  If  we  work  for 
to-day  only,  we  are  but  worms ;  if  we  work  for 
to-morrow,  we  are  but  bees ;  not  until  we  work 
for  eternity  do  we  work  as  men. 

2.  Don't  allow  yourself  to  think  too  much 
about  the  rudeness  of  your  boys.  Nearly  every- 
thing a  boy  does  is  rude  in  the  eyes  of  a 
grown-up,  and  if  you  undertake  to  repress 
everything  that  appears  rude  in  your  class  you 
will  not  be  able  to  keep  your  mind  on  the  lesson 
for  a  single  moment. 

3.  Do  not  use  a  pretty  girl  teacher  as  a 
magnet  to  draw  big  boys  to  Sunday-school.  It 
is  like  using  a  magnet  to  draw  pins  into  a  box. 
The  pins  will  go  in  the  box  if  the  magnet  goes 
in,  but  they  will  stick  to  the  magnet,  not  to  the 
box,  and  you  cannot  do  anything  with  them 
while  they  are  sticking. 

4.  In  teaching  boys  be  sweet  but  don't  be 
sentimental.  Be  loving  but  don't  be  "  confec- 
tionery," as  the  children  say.  Little  girls  can 
stand  a  good  deal  of  sentimental  stuff,  but 
everything  that  is  in  a  boy  revolts  from  it. 

5.  Don't  speak  to  a  child  as  a  child  but  as  a 
companion.  Don't  let  a  boy  thuik  that  you 
think  of  him  as  a  little  boy.  What  you  want 
is  to  develop  a  sense  of  companionship,  and  you 
can't  do  this  if  the  boy  is  made  to  feel  that  he 
is  of  another  sort  from  you. 


XXXIV 
SOME  BOY  PEOBLEMS 

WHAT  is  the  first  thing  to  do  with  a 
bad  boy? 
The  very  first  thing  is  to  stop 
calling  him  a  bad  boy.  No  teacher  who  uses 
that  phrase  is  likely  ever  to  make  any  sort  of  a 
boy  good.  Let  him  understand  that  you  do 
not  think  of  him  as  other  people  do  and  that 
you  don't  propose  that  anybody  shall  call  him 
a  bad  boy.  Look  for  a  single  good  point  in 
him — you  will  find  it  somewhere — and  tell  him 
about  it.  Let  him  feel  that  you  see  something 
good  in  him.  This  is  the  first  thing.  And 
this  is  the  most  important  thing. 

What  would  you  do  with  a  boy  who  suddenly 
concludes  that  he  will  not  go  to  church  any 
more? 

First,  don't  beg  him  to  go.  A  boy  likes  not 
to  do  a  thing  he  is  begged  to  do.  Second,  don't 
tell  him  about  what  becomes  of  bad  boys  who 
don't  go  to  church.  He  has  enough  curiosity 
to  make  the  experiment.  Third,  ask  the  pastor 
to  give  him  something  to  do  at  church.  He 
can  open  the  door ;  he  can  watch  the  ther- 
mometer ;  he  can  distribute  notices  or  envelopes 
i88 


Some  Boy  Problems  189 

or  books  in  the  pews ;  he  can  keep  note  of  the 
absentees  so  that  the  pastor  can  look  them  up ; 
he  can  locate  strangers  and  tell  the  pastor  about 
them  ;  he  can  do  a  hundred  and  one  things  that 
are  usually  left  undone.  The  important  thing 
is  to  give  him  a  specific  object  in  going  to 
church.  "What  makes  many  a  boy  hate  to  go 
to  church  is  that  he  has  been  told  nothing  but 
that  it  is  his  duty  to  go.  A  boy  never  likes  to 
do  a  thing  for  which  you  cannot  give  a  reason 
except  to  say  that  it  is  his  duty. 

"  I  find  it  impossible  to  get  a  hold  on  my  class. 
They  are  the  most  uncontrollable  boys  I  ever 
saw.     What  would  you  suggest  ?  " 

The  only  way  to  get  a  hold  upon  one's  class 
is  to  get  a  hold  upon  the  individual  members  of 
the  class,  one  at  a  time.  Every  class  has  its 
leader,  and  the  quickest  way  is  to  first  get  hold 
of  the  boy  who  leads  the  rest  in  disorder.  Seek 
him  out  during  the  week  and  cultivate  him,  and 
when  you  have  reached  a  point  where  you  can 
safely  claim  him  as  a  friend,  have  a  little  confi- 
dential talk  with  him  and  ask  him  to  assist  you 
in  keeping  order  in  the  class.  It  is  not  such  a 
difficult  matter  if  you  know  how  to  win  the 
heart  of  a  boy. 

"  I  want  something  for  my  boys  to  do  during 
the  week.     What  shall  it  be  ?  " 

If  3^ou  would  open  your  eyes  you  would  not 
ask  what  it  shall  be,  but  rather  what  it  shall 


igo    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

not  be.  For  there  is  enough  work  around  you 
to  keep  a  dozen  classes  of  boys  like  yours  busy. 
If  you  cannot  think  of  anything  else  take  those 
boys  over  to  the  poor  widow's  house  in  the  lane 
and  let  them  cut  her  wood  and  clean  up  her 
yard.  Anything  that  looks  like  helping  some- 
body will  do.  Of  course,  cutting  wood  is  un- 
speakably vile  to  the  boy  alone  at  home,  but  at 
the  widow's  house  they  will  be  ready  to  fight 
for  the  possession  of  the  axe. 

"  My  boys  are  in  their  teens  and  are  beginning 
to  feel  a  little  ashamed  of  Sunday-school.  What 
can  I  do  to  hold  them  ?  " 

Treat  them  no  longer  as  boys  but  as  young 
men.  Instead  of  patting  them  on  the  head 
give  them  a  comrade's  whack  upon  the  shoulder 
occasionally.  Get  your  illustrations  from  the 
every-day  life  of  young  men.  Stress  the  manly 
virtues.  Show  an  interest  in  everything  that 
is  manly.  Don't  look  down  upon  them ;  look 
at  them  as  if  they  were  just  as  tall  as  you  are — 
no  more,  no  less.  And  spend  more  time  pray- 
ing for  them  than  you  ever  spent  before.  There 
are  other  things  you  must  do,  but  these  are 
enough  for  a  beginning. 

"What  would  you  do  with  the  unmanageable 
boy? 

Nothing,  of  course ;  for  how  can  I  manage 
him  if  he  is  unmanageable  ?  But  I  would  be 
very  slow  to  decide  that  he  is  unmanageable. 


Some  Boy  Problems  191 

If  you  are  sure  you  can  do  nothing  with  a  boy 
you  will  do  nothing  with  him.  Better  turn 
him  over  to  a  teacher  who  is  not  sure. 

"  My  pupils  have  reached  a  stage  where  they 
seem  to  have  little  confidence  in  anything  I  say 
to  them.  They  are  always  expressing  doubt. 
What  would  you  do  ?  " 

I  would  not  take  them  too  seriously.  Boys 
in  their  teens  are  likely  either  to  have  doubts 
or  to  affect  them.  In  either  case  it  is  a  mere 
symptom,  like  the  down  on  the  upper  lip.  In 
due  time  it  will  give  place  to  something  else. 
Possibly  if  you  will  do  all  that  you  can  to 
strengthen  their  confidence  in  your  knowledge 
and  judgment  they  will  not  find  it  so  difficult 
to  believe  what  you  say. 

Should  a  teacher  be  chosen  for  a  class  of 
boys  who  expresses  an  unwillingness  to  teach 
boys? 

]^o.  Nobody  ever  did  anything  with  boys 
who  either  feared  them  or  disliked  them. 

"  What  can  I  do  to  secure  the  respect  of  my 
boys  ?  They  don't  seem  to  respect  anybody  or 
anything." 

Do  you  treat  them  with  respect  ? 

"Do  you  believe  it  is  possible  to  reform  a 
boy  who  is  at  heart  dishonest  ?  " 

I  do  not  believe  that  he  can  be  reformed, 
but  I  believe  he  can  be  regenerated.  Keform 
has  its  possibilities,  but  it  also  has  its  limita- 


192    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

tions.  Because  men  have  reformed  a  bent 
apple  tree  is  no  reason  why  we  should  hope  to 
reform  a  decayed  apple.  What  a  bad  boy 
needs  is  not  reformation  but  regeneration. 

Are  not  boys  interested  in  stories  of  heroines 
as  well  as  heroes  ? 

Not  until  they  are  old  enough  to  become  in- 
terested in  the  sex  to  which  heroines  belong. 
A  small  boy  is  not  interested  in  the  things  that 
girls  or  women  do.  He  is  only  interested  in 
the  deeds  of  bigger  boys  and  men. 

Would  you  have  a  woman  who  is  prejudiced 
against  boys  teach  a  class  of  boys  if  you  could 
get  nobody  else  ? 

No ;  I  would  break  up  the  class  and  scatter 
the  boys  among  other  classes.  Could  anybody 
who  is  prejudiced  against  you  teach  you  any- 
thing ? 

"  How  can  I  learn  to  love  an  unlovable  boy  ?  " 

First,  stop  thinking  of  him  as  an  unlovable 
boy.  You  will  never  learn  to  love  him  so  long 
as  you  think  of  him  as  unlovable.  Think  of 
him  as  your  boy,  or,  if  you  can,  as  God's  boy 
put  into  your  hands  to  be  molded  into  the 
image  of  His  Son.  Second,  get  better  ac- 
quainted with  him.  You  may  call  a  boy  un- 
lovable if  you  know  him  only  as  he  appears 
on  the  surface,  but  the  chances  are  that  if  you 
will  go  down  beneath  the  surface  you  will  find 
something  in    him    worth  loving.     Third,  do 


Some  Boy  Problems  i^a 

something  for  him.  Do  a  great  deal  for  him 
feeek  opportunities  to  help  him  in  every  way' 
Tou  know,  we  love  most  those  we  do  most 
tor,  not  those  who  do  most  for  us. 


XXXV 
ADDITIONAL  POINTS 

IN  getting  ready  for  Sunday-school  see 
that  you  have  a  good  pencil,  plenty  of 
patience,  a  sheet  of  paper,  a  heart  full 
of  love,  a  handy  Bible,  and  an  abundant  supply 
of  common  sense.  Pardon  the  mention  of  that 
last  item,  but  there  are  some  very  good  people 
who  imagine  that  while  common  sense  is  a 
very  essential  thing  on  Monday  one  has  no 
need  for  it  on  Sunday,  seeing  that  in  all  relig- 
ious work  the  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities.  I 
wish  every  teacher  could  be  persuaded  to  tie 
his  Bible  and  his  common  sense  so  tightly 
together  that  he  could  never  use  the  former 
without  the  latter.  I  know  a  minister  who 
several  years  ago  decided  that  ordinary  com- 
mon sense  had  no  place  in  the  study  of  so 
spiritual  a  book  as  the  Bible,  and  the  other  day 
he  announced  that  he  would  not  conduct  any 
more  funeral  services  because  he  had  been  re- 
minded by  the  Spirit  that  Jesus  had  told  His 
disciples  to  let  the  dead  bury  their  dead. 

2.     Disloyalty  breeds  disloyalty.     If  you  are 
not  loyal  to  your  superintendent  you  need  not 
194 


Additional  Points  195 

be  surprised  if   at  any  moment  your  pupils 
should  prove  disloyal  to  you. 

3.  I  wonder  if  the  great  need  of  your 
Sunday-school  is  not  enthusiasm.  I  wonder  if 
it  does  not  want  a  good  electric  shock  or  a  suc- 
cession of  good  electric  shocks.  I  wonder  if 
the  trouble  is  not  with  the  teachers  rather  than 
with  the  pupils.  I  wonder  if  you  have  not  too 
many  men  and  women  in  your  school  whose 
only  excuse  for  being  teachers  is  that  they  are 
willing.  And  I  wonder  if  you  have  not  others 
who  have  five  talents  for  their  work  who  are 
using  but  one  or  none  for  the  lack  of  enthusi- 
asm to  dig  them  up. 

4.  That  teacher  is  doing  the  best  work  for 
his  pupil  who  has  given  him  a  place  in  his 
heart  next  to  his  own  children  or  brothers  or 
sisters.  How  many  people  are  dearer  to  you 
than  your  pupils  ? 

5.  The  habitually  late  or  irregular  teacher 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  is  late  or  irregular  for 
one  reason  only.  It  is  purely  a  matter  of  lazi- 
ness, and  there  is  but  one  thing  that  will  cure 
laziness,  and  that  is  a  motive.  Laziness  is 
simply  a  symptom  of  emptiness — emptiness  of 
mind  or  of  heart.  Put  an  idea  into  the  head 
of  a  sluggard  and  he  will  soon  be  on  his  feet. 
Fire  his  heart  with  a  great  ambition,  and  you 
will  perform  a  miracle  like  that  which  trans- 
formed the  dry  bones  of   the  valley  into  a 


196    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

living  army.  I  would  not  underrate  any  of 
the  various  methods  and  devices  to  secure 
better  attendance  which  have  been  used  with 
varying  degrees  of  success,  but  we  might  as 
well  understand  at  the  outset  that  if  a  method 
or  device  is  to  be  of  any  permanent  value  it 
must  aim  at  putting  ideas  into  the  heads  and 
motives  into  the  hearts  of  the  habitually  ir- 
regular. 

6.  We  have  not  too  much  of  the  feminine, 
but  we  have  a  great  deal  too  much  of  the  ef- 
feminate in  our  Sunday-schools.  "We  want 
more  vigour,  more  virility,  more  masculinity 
in  our  movements,  our  speech,  om*  discipline. 
There  are  still  too  many  superintendents  and 
teachers  who  imagine  that  the  whole  Sunday- 
school  is  in  pinafores  and  needs  "mothering." 

7.  We  might  as  well  set  up  a  tombstone  at 
the  head  of  a  class  as  to  keep  in  it  a  teacher 
whose  pupils  have  discovered  that  his  heart  is 
not  in  his  work. 

8.  ISTothing  has  done  more  for  the  modern 
Sunday-school  than  the  convention  idea.  But 
it  is  worth  while  to  remind  ourselves  occasion- 
ally that  Sunday-school  work  does  not  consist 
in  going  to  conventions.  The  convention  is  for 
preparation  and  inspiration ;  the  real  work 
comes  after  it  is  over.  A  great  many  good 
people  will  sentence  themselves  to  hard  labour 
at  our  conventions  and  institutes  next  summer 


Additional  Points  197 

and  go  home  at  the  end  with  a  satchel  full  of 
note- books  all  used  up  and  a  heart  full  of  con- 
tentment over  the  thought  that  they  have 
proved  themselves  worthy  Sunday-school  work- 
ers. And  some  of  these  good  people  will  leave 
all  their  ideas  in  their  note-books  and  go  back 
to  their  Sunday-schools  in  the  fall  in  the  same 
old  listless  way.  I  know  a  man  who  won  a 
great  reputation  as  a  Sunday-school  worker  by 
attending  all  the  conventions  for  miles  around, 
but  he  rarely  attended  his  own  Sunday-school. 
Let  us  go  to  conventions — let  us  go  wherever  a 
Sunday-school  idea  may  be  found— but  let  us 
not  deceive  ourselves  with  the  idea  that  this  is 
Sunday-school  work.  We  go  to  conventions  to 
get  ready  to  work. 

9.  The  teacher  who  finds  fault  with  the 
superintendent  is  raising  a  lot  of  pupils  to  find 
fault  with  the  teacher. 

10.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  carrying  your 
lesson  help  in  your  pocket  if  you  are  a  man,  in 
whatever  you  may  carry  in  place  of  a  pocket  if 
you  are  a  woman.  A  prominent  business  man 
whose  knowledge  of  the  lessons  for  a  long  time 
excited  my  wonder  told  me  that  he  had  formed 
the  habit  of  glancing  at  his  "  help  "  whenever 
he  was  waiting  for  a  street-car,  or  was  other- 
wise unengaged,  and  that  as  a  consequence 
when  Saturday  night  came  he  was  always 
saturated  with  the  lesson. 


198    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

11.  We  waste  so  much  precious  time  think- 
ing about  what  we  can  do  for  our  pupils  in 
general.  If  we  would  only  spend  a  while  think- 
ing about  what  we  can  do  for  some  one  pupil 
in  particular ! 

12.  The  fact  that  you  do  not  agree  with 
your  superintendent  does  not  prove  that  he  is 
in  the  wrong.  Nor  is  it  any  reason  why  you 
should  not  give  him  your  hearty  support.  You 
are  not  going  to  agree  with  the  wisest  and  best 
people  in  the  world  in  everything,  but  if  you 
are  wise  you  are  going  to  take  your  stand  with 
the  wisest  and  best  people  regardless  of  your 
own  ideas  or  feelings.  You  will  do  it  for  your 
own  sake  if  for  nothing  more.  Take  your  stand 
by  your  superintendent  and  let  him  feel  the 
strength  of  your  helping  hand,  not  of  yom'  re- 
sisting fist.  It  will  help  you  as  much  as  it  will 
help  him.  And  it  will  help  your  class  as  much 
as  it  will  help  the  school  as  a  whole.  You  can- 
not weaken  the  authority  of  your  superintendent 
in  the  school  without  weakening  your  own 
authority  in  your  class.  You  cannot  reflect 
upon  him  without  inviting  upon  yourself  like 
treatment  from  your  own  pupils. 

13.  Our  pupils  may  step  in  our  tracks  with 
safety  only  as  our  footprints  fall  in  with  the 
footprints  of  Jesus. 

14.  Is  your  Sunday-school  lesson  story  just 
as  real  to  you  as  the  morning  paper  ?    Do  you 


Additional  Points  199 

think  of  it  as  an  actual  record  of  events  that 
actually  occurred  ?  Are  its  people  real  flesh 
and  blood  people  ?  Ask  these  questions  of  your 
own  heart  before  you  go  to  the  class  and  demand 
an  answer.  And  don't  go  until  you  can  give 
the  right  answer. 

15.  The  teacher  who  is  not  assured  of  his 
own  integrity  is  not  the  teacher  to  teach  a  class 
about  matters  of  common  honesty. 

16.  My  friend  Faintheart,  who  teaches  a 
girls'  class  in  the  corner,  is  still  consoling  him- 
self with  the  thought  that  if  he  fails  it  will  be 
for  lack  of  opportunity  to  succeed.  Faintheart 
sits  with  his  chair  tilted  against  the  wall  and 
spends  half  of  his  time  looking  over  the  heads 
of  his  pupils  at  the  rest  of  the  school,  and  envy- 
ing the  opportunities  of  his  fellow  teachers. 
'No  doubt  he  is  going  to  fail,  but  it  will  not 
be  for  lack  of  opportunity.  It  will  be  for 
lack  of  get-at-it-iveness  to  seize  and  use  the 
opportunities  that  are  flying  around  his  class 
like  swallows  about  a  chimney. 

IT.  The  Sunday-school  teacher  should  learn 
how  to  smile  and  forget  how  to  giggle.  One 
may  smile  at  a  very  serious  business — as  did 
many  a  martyr  at  the  stake — but  one  cannot 
giggle  at  it. 

18.  You  will  never  do  your  best  work  in  the 
Sunday-school  so  long  as  you  are  not  perfectly 
sure  that  the  Sunday-school  work  is  worthy  of 


200    Secrets  of  Sunday-School  Teaching 

your  best.  This  is  the  chief  trouble — we  are  not 
perfectly  sure  about  it.  Some  of  us  are  not  half 
sure.  Some  of  us  are  so  uncertain  about  it  that 
we  never  go  to  Sunday-school  without  wishing 
that  we  could  go  all  the  way  by  a  back  street. 
We  don't  want  to  meet  our  distinguished  friend, 
the  professor,  and  the  adorable  Miss  High 
Society,  and  have  them  discover  that  we  are 
pious  Sunday-school  workers ! 

19.  Is  your  piety  of  the  type  that  makes 
little  children  fidgety  in  your  presence  ? 

20.  The  lesson  is  not  going  to  mean  more  to 
your  pupils  than  it  means  to  you.  You  are  not 
going  to  impart  to  them  more  than  you  get  out 
of  it  for  yourself.  You  are  not  going  to  bind 
the  truth  to  their  hearts  if  you  do  not  first  bind 
it  to  your  own  heart. 

21.  If  a  Sunday-school  teacher  was  paid  a 
salary  would  you  employ  a  teacher  for  your 
school  who  did  not  know  anything  more  about 
the  art  of  teaching  than  some  Sunday-school 
teachers  you  know  ?    If  not,  why  not  ? 

22.  Do  your  pupils  feel  that  you  love  them 
during  the  week  as  well  as  on  Sunday  ? 

23.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  win  the  confidence 
of  those  we  would  teach  in  our  ability;  it  is 
better  to  win  their  confidence  in  ourselves.  It 
is  best  to  win  both. 

24.  Teaching  is  a  personal  matter.  If  you 
do  not  make  the  lesson  a  personal  matter  with 


Additional  Points  201 

yourself,  you  are  not  going  to  make  it  a  personal 
matter  with  your  pupils.  If  you  study  the 
lesson  simply  because  you  have  to  teach  it,  your 
pupils  will  study  the  lesson — if  they  study  it 
at  all — simply  because  they  have  to  recite  it.  It 
is  vain  to  hope  that  you  are  benefiting  your 
pupils  if  you  are  not  getting  any  benefit  your- 
self. 

25.  Yery  small  children  can  take  a  good 
deal  of  genuine  gush.  When  a  boy  is  old 
enough  to  know  that  it  is  gush  he  is  utterly 
repelled  by  it.  A  girl  will  detect  it  earlier, 
perhaps,  but  for  a  while  can  stand  it  better. 
Whatever  you  do  don't  gush  over  a  boy  who 
has  passed  his  tenth  year. 

26.  Don't  expect  to  set  the  hearts  of  your 
pupils  on  fire  if  your  own  heart  is  not  on  fire. 
And  don't  expect  your  own  heart  to  be  on  fire 
if  you  never  furnish  any  fuel  for  the  flame.  If 
you  want  to  go  to  your  class  at  white  heat  you 
must  find  time  to  read.  Thinking  comes  of 
reading  and  fire  comes  of  thinking. 


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SUNDAY  SCHOOL  WORK 


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International  Sunday  School  Association. 

6th  Edition,  12mo,  Cloth,        -        -        net  1.25. 

"Every  superintendent,  teacher,  pastor,  officer, 
should  own  it.  A  perfect  mine  of  hints  ana  plans  from 
the  most  experienced  Sunday  school  leader  of  the  day." 
— Sunday  School  Times. 

"  Packed  full  of  useful  information.  Filled  with 
details,  specific  and  practical,  for  which  a  host  of  work- 
ers have  longed  and  prayed." — Examiner, 

The  Modem  Sunday  School  in 
Principle  and  Practice 

By  Henry  F.  Cope.    12mo,  Cloth,    -     net  1.00. 

By  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Religious  Education 
Association.  It  constitutes  an  invaluable  guide  for  the 
management  of  the  Sunday  School  under  modern  con- 
ditions. Presents  the  results  of  the  newest  experiments 
both  with  primary,  adolescent  and  adult  grades. 

Sunday  School  Success 

By  Amos  R.  Wells.  12mo,  Cloth,  Gilt  Top,  1.26. 

"  The  author  writes  from  his  rich  fund  of  knowledge 
and  wisdom  gained  by  personal  experience  in  practical 
Sunday  school  work.  For  Sunday  school  teachers  and 
superintendents  it  is  the  best  hand-book  on  methods  of 
work  and  mastery  of  difficulties  we  have  yet  seen.  It 
is  interesting.  There  is  not  a  dull  chapter  in  it."-— 
Evangelical  Messenger. 

Pastoral  Leadersli:p  of  Sunday 
School  Forces 

By  A.  F.  Schauffler,  D.D.    12mo,  Cloth,  net  .50. 

The  book  is  the  outcome  of  the  experience  of  he 
who  today  is  perhaps  the  leading  exponent  of  practical 
Sunday  school  work  in  its  entirety  and  detail. 

The  Modern  Superintendent 

and  his  Work.  By  J.  R.  Pepper,  16mo,paper,  .IB, 
A  wealth  of  suggestion  in  most  compact  form.    , 


PRIMARY 


Object  Lessons  for  Children 

Or,  Hooks  and  Eyes,  Truth  Linked  to  Sight. 

By  C.  H.  Tyndall,  Ph.   D.      Illustrated,  4th 

Edition.    12mo,  Cloth,         -        -        .  1.26. 

*'  For  busy  Sunday  school  workers  and  others,  we 
know  no  better  work  of  its  Vind."  —  Cumi^r/and 
JPresbyterian. 

Talks  to  Children 

By  T.  T.  Eaton,   D.D.    3d  Edition.     12mo, 

Cloth,  Gilt  Top, 1.00. 

"It  reproduces  Scripture  History  in  the  terms  of 
modern  life,  and  ^ves  it  both  a  vivid  setting  before  the 
youthful  imagination  and  a  firm  grip  on  the  youthful 
conscience." — Independent, 

The  Shepherd  Psalm  for  Children 

By  Josephine  L.  Baldwin.  With  half-tone 
Frontispiece  and  13  outline  Illustrations,  16mo, 
Cloth,  -  ■  -  -  .  -  -  -  .35. 
•'Equally  adapted  to  teach  the  teacher  how  to 
teach,  to  teach  the  child  how  to  learn,  and  to  teach 
what  ought  to  be  learned." — Christian  Advocate. 

The  Lord'r*  Prayer  for  Children 

By    Martha    K.    Lawson.      Illustrated,  12mo, 

Cloth, net  .60. 

"  Miss  Lawson  is  a  specialist  in  the  science  of  child 
study.  The  book  is  invaluable  to  Primary  teachers  and 
leaders  of  Junior  classes." — N.  Y.  Observer. 

Eighty  Good  Times  Out  of  Doors 

By  Lilian  M.  Heath.  12mo,  Cloth,  Illus- 
trated,          net  .76. 

"Just  the  thing  for  workers  among  children,  and 
the  question  "What  shall  we  play  next  ? "  will  find  a 
ready  response  in  this  helpful  volume." — Christian 
Intelligencer. 

Seed  for  Spring-time  Sowing 

A  Wall  Roll  for  the  use  of  Primary,  Sabbath 
School  and  Kindergarten  Teachers.  Comuiled 
by  Mrs.  Robert  Pratt.  -  .  .  .  '  .75. 
Favorite  Psalms  —  The  Lord's  Prayer  —  Ten 
Commandments  —  Beatitudes  —  Many  other 
choice  Biblical  selections,  all  in  very  clear  type 
for  wall  use. 


THE  BLACKBOARD 


Pencil  Points  for  Preacher  and  Teacher 

A  Second  Volume  of  Blackboard  and  Object 
Teaching. 

By  Rev.  R.  F.  Y.  Pierce.  2d  Edition,  Illus- 
trated, Cloth. net  1.26. 

"A  useful  volume  by  the  recognized  exponent  of  the 
art  of  conveying  Scripture  truth  by  means  of  blackboard 
sketches  and  object  lessons.  Crowded  with  illustra- 
tions of  blackboard  drawings  and  suggestions,  and 
forms  a  fitting  companion  to  ais  popular  Dook  'Pictured 
Truth.'  ''—Westminister, 

Pictured  Truth 

A  Handbook  of  Blackboard  and  Object  Teach- 
ing. By  R.  F.  Y.  Pierce.  With  Illustrations 
by  the  author.    3d  Edition,    Cloth,       -     1.2B. 

^  "  The  blackboard  in  the  Sunday  School  may  be  en- 
nched  readily  in  its  diversified  Sunday  use  by  the  study 
of  such  a  hoo\i,"—Congre£^ationalist, 

Chalk 

What  We  Can  Do  With  It.  Practical  Work 
with  Chalk  and  Blackboard.  By  Mrs.  Ella  N. 
Wood.    2d  Edition.    Illustrated,     -     net  .T5. 

"  Mrs.  Wood  helps  every  one,  in  this  book,  who  has 
anything  to  do  with  the  education  of  children,  to  make 
an  ally  of  the  blackboard.. ..The  book  will  help  ministers 
to  hold  their  boys  and  girls ;  it  will  be  invaluable  t<- 
Junior  Endeavor  superintendents  and  Primary  Suada* 
school  teachers."— C.  E,  World, 

Children's  Meetings 

And  How  to  Conduct  Them.  By  Lucy  J.  Rider 
and  Nellie  M.  Carman.  With  Lessons,  Out- 
lines, Diagrams,  Music,  etc.  Introduction  by 
Bishop  Vincent.  Cloth,  .  -  net  1.00. 
Paper, net  .50. 

•'  With  the  aid  of  its  blackboard  sketches  it  aims  to 
teach  the  leader  to  talk  with  children,  to  encourage  the 
memorizing  of  Bible  verses,  and  to  make  use  of  tht 
lessons  from  nature."— C.  £,  World, 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  and  THE  CHILDREN 

A.  H.  McKINNEY,  Ph.D. 

Former  Secretary  N.   Y.  State  S.   S.  Association. 

Practical  Pedagogy  in  the  Sunday  School 

i6m,o,  cloth,  net  soc. 

"The  principles  which  underlie  successful  teaching  are 
taken  up  under  various  heads,  as  'Apperception,'  'Adap- 
tation,' etc.,  and  the  art  of  illustrating,  questioning,  etc. 
Many  things  which  teachers  instinctively  find  out  for  them- 
selves are  here  supported  with  reasons,  and  every  teacher 
will  find  helpful  suggestions  which  are  new." — Watchman. 

H.  E.  CARMACK 

How  to  Teach  a  Sunday  School  Lesson 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 

New  ways,  new  methods,  new  plans  characterize  this 
new  work  which  reflects  the  spirit  of  our  progressive  age. 
It  is  decidedly  fresh,  and  original  in  its  treatment  of  the 
subject  of  lesson  teaching, 

J^A  V  CLARKSOISr  MARKER 

The  Work  of  the  Sunday  School 

A  Manual  for  Teachers.    i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

Fresh,  original,  stimulating,  this  book  is  the  product 
of  research,  study  and  thought.  Because  of  its  inspirational 
character,  it  will  impart  a  new  impetus  to  Sunday  Schoo? 
workers.  The  book  was  inspired  by  lectures  delivered  by  Mr. 
Harker   at   Summer   Assemblies   and   Chautauquas. 

EA  SIL  MA  THE  WS,  M.  A. 

The  Fascinated  ChM 

A  Quest  for  the  Child  Spirit  and  Talks  with  Boys 
and  Girls.     i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

A  book  for  the  parent,  teacher  and  minister.  Part  I, 
Wbnder  and  the  Hero,  or  the  Quest  for  the  Child  Spirit. 
In  Par'4  II,  Talks  With  the  Children.  Part  IIIp  Primary 
Talks. 

ALBERT  C.  MACKINNON,  M.A. 


The  Bible  Zoo 

Talks  to  Children  about  the  Birds,  Beasts  and  In- 
sects of  the  Bible.     i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

The  author  says  in  his  foreword,  "Come  with  me,  chil- 
dren, for  a  stroll  through  the  zoological  gardens  of  the  Scrip- 
ture  As   we   take    our   walk   through   these    Bible   grounds 

I  want  you  to  listen  to  all  the  sermons  preached  to  us  by 
the  inhabitants  of  this  zoo."  "The  "Zoo"  contains  "the  Bird 
House,"  "the  Insect  House,"  "the  lyion  House"  and  "the 
Outside  Paddock." 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


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